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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

School lunches provided by Brakes brothers, ok or not?

44 replies

TheBadTemperedLadybird · 23/09/2017 22:55

Dcs are saying school lunches are horrible and have said so for some time. Their friends agree.

We saw a Brakes Bros lorry leaving school last week. Lunches are £360 a term, private school.

AIBU to expect better? Or is Brakes bros food fine?

OP posts:

Original poster

TheBadTemperedLadybird · 23/09/2017 23:18

Ok so my Brakes Bros prejudice is unfounded by the sound of it, thanks
I will complain about the food then and not mention the lorry

OP posts:

PinkHeart5913 · 23/09/2017 23:21

Take a look at the website OP www.brake.co.uk/

lazyarse123 · 23/09/2017 23:26

Could you ask to attend lunch one day and see for yourself. You are paying for it after all. I worked in a state school kitchen and when we went onto all fresh ingredients we invited a few parents a week to see and taste what we were serving. We didn't use Brakes bit I have seen them deliver to a smart Italian restaurant near me.

Blahblahboo · 23/09/2017 23:33

I used to work in a school kitchen as a lunchtime assistant, and it was this food supplier. I don't know if it was the food or the cooks but they would make spag bol with gravy, and the rest didn't look too nice either. The cheap burgers where you can buy thirty for a pound, cheap nasty buns. Frozen dry muffins. Avoid avoid avoid

Ojoj1974 · 23/09/2017 23:38

I think brakes have a good reputation.
As to see the menu?

SusanTheGentle · 23/09/2017 23:41

I have no idea whether this is a good supplier or not and my experience is 20 years out of date. But the school meals at my private school - same deal, you liked it or lumped it, no packed lunches allowed - were fresh, good quality and cooked by staff employed directly by the school.

We all whinged about them but looking back they were really very good, on the whole. But if all the kids are complaining enough for you all to be up in arms about it and they're just refusing to eat it, it might be worth finding out directly from the school what the deal is. Is it frozen meals or is it being cooked from scratch? What amounts of food are being left over? Is it just that your DC and their friends are refusing and egging each other on, or is it a mass issue?

(Mind you, at my school we weren't allowed to leave food; it was pretty horrific, teachers would stand over you until you finished it if you handed a plate with leftovers on it back to the dinner ladies.)

JammyGem · 23/09/2017 23:44

Brakes are fine...

Yeah, some of their stuff is pre-cooked meals etc., but a lot of it is stuff that many restaurants and caterers use. Having said that, if they're buying the cheapest bulk stuff from them it's probably not going to be great. You get what you pay for!

My DH is a chef in a "fine dining" restaurant and they buy a few bits from them.

Sara107 · 23/09/2017 23:46

My 7 yr old has been complaining a lot about horrible school dinners and begging for packed lunches. I sat down with her with the menu which covers a 3 week cycle and ticked off the dinners she likes, then the dinners which are ok, or she likes the vegetarian option, or she likes most of the meal. We were left with 2 days in the 3 week cycle where she doesn't like any of the food. So it might be worth digging a bit deeper into exactly what is on offer and what your DCs don't like about it. Once I agreed to packed lunches on the two days in question she has stopped complaining.

EezerGoode · 23/09/2017 23:47

Christ,you pay for the school ? THEN you also pay for the lunch...surely I've read that wrong ,it's late and I'm a few drinks to the wind...so why can't you send a packed lunch ,your paying,do as you please....and why isn't lunch included in the cost of the school?

AdaColeman · 23/09/2017 23:50

Brakes probably supply your favourite little restaurant in France too.

Original poster

TheBadTemperedLadybird · 23/09/2017 23:52

I don't have a favorite restaurant in France
Yes we are paying

OP posts:

EezerGoode · 23/09/2017 23:56

Why can't you send a packed lunch

Corcory · 23/09/2017 23:57

I used to own a bakery and used Brakes for frozen things like do-nuts and some uncooked pies etc. They were very good.

Migraleve · 24/09/2017 00:01

It’s unlikely that brakes are the sole supplier anyway. I have worked 15 years in the Industry and every place from small cafe to large posh hotel has several different suppliers.

quizqueen · 24/09/2017 00:16

Get as many parent's signatures as you can and go in to speak to the head about your concerns re the children being hungry because they don't like the food and also ask if you can visit during lunch time and sample it yourself.

Stoptherideiwannagetoff · 24/09/2017 00:48

Brakes bros food is absolutely fine - they probably supply 90pc of the restaurants that you eat in!

AlexanderHamilton · 24/09/2017 00:53

Eezer - private schools can set a rule that no one takes their own food in if they want to. My son's junior school did (despite sensory issues meaning he ate nothing).

Dd's school also has this rule (well theybare allowed to take food in but there is nowhere to eat it as Sodexo won't allow packed lunches in 'their' area.

bbcessex · 24/09/2017 01:09

Brakes are fab. They supply pre-poached eggs that are spot on when boiled in pouches.

You are wide of the mark OP of you are concerned about quality origins.

EezerGoode · 24/09/2017 10:13

Thanks for answering my question,Alexander...I'm shocked that's not putting the welfare of the child first....no matter how fussy an eater,it is in no child's best interests to go all day with out food.and that is precisely what mine would do if forced to eat school dinners

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