Charterhouse
Enjoying the benefits of central dining
At Charterhouse, we managed a smooth transition from house dining to central dining. As well as enhancing efficiency and productivity, with more pupils eating together, the move was completed without diminishing the school’s sense of community.
Objectives
Our goal was to achieve a full transition to central dining within six months of the contract. Whilst maintaining the emotional attachment and community feel of the house-dining experience. We would achieve this by aligning menus, production standards and food quality across the school – all with the aim of increasing satisfaction scores from pupils. Financially, our objective was to reduce overall food costs and increase staff productivity within the catering and support departments.
Implementation
Close collaboration with the school and clear communication were vital throughout the project. This helped everyone understand the transition’s impacts and benefits. Making all menus consistent across the affected houses helped our chefs manage food quality. It also kept things as simple as possible when the kitchen works began. During the works, we carefully planned the menus. This ensured the best quality from a delivered service – and continued collaborating with the school on design and operation throughout.
As the transition to central dining began, houses still dined together, preserving the familiar community feel. The team intricately planned and rehearsed the new approach to protect this and ensure the project’s practical and financial success. We organised trial days with school staff monitoring throughput and layout issues – and on launch day, members of our regional and national culinary and managerial support teams made sure we achieved the highest food quality and production standards.
Results
The overall cost of food for the affected houses fell by 10%. This was thanks to reduced production and food waste, achieved by batch cooking and lower counter wastage. Staff productivity increased: despite a 20% rise in pupil numbers, staffing structure changes meant no extra people were needed. Food quality and satisfaction scores in the School Catering Survey increased. Kitchen staff freshly prepared all food on-site. In addition, the school was able to provide more themed meals and food activities. Due to the greater numbers eating together – again reinforcing the community feel.
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