Dear Parents
“School food” – two little words but with huge resonance. Despite many of us, who have fond and nostalgic memories of the highly calorific chocolate pudding dripping with chocolate sauce, served when we were at school, other memories are less positive. We, as a nation, are much more conscious today of what we eat and what we feed our children, than was the case forty years ago and in many schools the catering has stepped up to the mark. At the Abbey we are proud of the food that we offer our children. Until recently we have had three first class and widely experienced chefs. Aaron Pawson is in charge of the catering and is assisted by Jim Thompson. Aaron trained in London and worked in a Michelin starred restaurant and in the top restaurant in the Houses of Parliament and Jim was trained to provide food on board ships for hungry sailors for many years, working on the Royal Yacht Britannia and on HMS Invincible, which sailed up the Thames yesterday. Aaron and Jim both watch “Master Chef” and are always looking to change and improve what your children are offered each day.
Our third weekend chef, Michael Little, has just left us but lives locally. Michael is studying for an MA in anthropology and has a particular interest in soil and food. He is chairman of the south east branch of “Slow Food”. In 1986 an Italian called Carlo Petrini came to prominence for campaigning against the fast food chain Macdonald’s, who were seeking to open a store near the Spanish Steps in Rome. He invented the Slow Food movement, which has spread throughout the world and has many objectives. It is in favour of good quality, locally produced food and seeks to harmonise gastronomy and agriculture in an eco-friendly way. One of the movement’s objectives is to teach gardening skills to young people.
Without embracing the movement, I have offered Michael the opportunity to start not a “gardening” club but a “growing food” club at school and we hope to launch with immediate effect to catch the planting season. There is a little known patch of land which belongs to the school on the other side of the ruins and Michael will teach any pupil, who is interested, how to start a garden. He will tend it during the summer holidays and pupils can return to the garden in September.
If any one of you is interested in this project, do you have a spade, folk, trowel or rake unused and un-needed gathering dust in your potting shed? If so and if you would like to donate it to the new club, we should be able to set up with almost no cost. (Just pop them into the office!)
Have a good weekend!
Best wishes
Roger Clark
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