Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Children in Carmarthenshire schools have got a new summer lunch menu to look forward to. Dishes include both traditional favourites such as roast beef with Yorkshire pudding, to modern cuisine like chicken wraps with jacket wedges. A wide range of food is on offer including chicken tikka panninis, pizzas, spaghetti Bolognese, salmon, fish fingers, pork, turkey and sausages. Varied choices for vegetables and carbohydrates are offered along with vegetarian options. The county council’s catering services team dishes up over19,000 school meals every day, that have been nutritionally analysed with the use of a sophisticated software system. The new three-week rolling menu for the summer term will start on May 5; each day includes a main course with vegetables, carbohydrates, a dessert and a drink. Catering Service Manager Sandra Weigel said: “We try to incorporate a variety of both traditional and new to please the taste buds of the ever changing generation. “Along with having a nutrit...

School children across Carmarthenshire will be celebrating St David’s Day by tucking in to a traditional Welsh meal. To commemorate the Patron Saint of Wales, the county’s catering department are preparing to dish up for over 19,000 bowls of homemade cawl with bread roll and cheese on Tuesday (March 2). Healthy eating mascot Dylan the Dragon will be making a special visit to one school to tell children about the importance of healthy eating and as a treat the youngsters will be given a traditional Welshcake, Teisen Lap and custard. Catering Services Manager Sandra Weigel said: “It is important that we help celebrate this great occasion with a traditional menu. “There’s nothing better than a healthy bowl of warm cawl to help get you in the spirit of St David’s Day, and we know that it always goes down a treat with the children.” School meals cost £2.20 a day, and pupils can enjoy a main meal and pudding which has been carefully measured to ensure nutritional content. Each school meal ...

Schoolchildren across the county are preparing to go bananas as part of Fairtrade Fortnight. Carmarthenshire’s Catering Services is ordering in 700kg of Fairtrade bananas for a special themed lunch to mark the event, which will take place on Wednesday, February 25. Pupils can tuck into a roast dinner with broccoli, carrots, gravy, mashed and roast potatoes followed by homemade Fairtrade banana split served with vanilla ice-cream and hot chocolate sauce. The school meals services supports the sustainable and ethical food procurement practices and actively promotes use of Fairtrade products such as bananas, sugar, and fruit juices within school dining halls. Catering services manager, Sandra Weigel said: “It is important we show our support to Fairtrade as it complements our efforts to deliver a healthy and nutritionally balanced school meals service, which quite literally doesn't cost the earth. It also helps educate the children about the ethics of Fairtrade.” Each school meal a...

Carmarthenshire's  school kitchens are top of the class when it comes to hygiene standards. Following inspections, carried out by the council’s public health services team, 92 per cent Carmarthenshire’s primary and secondary schools scored a five star rating, denoting ‘excellent’ standards – the highest possible grading. All others scored four stars, or ‘very good’ standard, apart from one school that received three stars, or ‘good’ standard which was due to structural work that has since been addressed. More than £600,000 was spent repairing and upgrading kitchens in 2013/14, with improvements including the re-painting of kitchen walls and ceilings, replacing shelves and counters and re-tiling, as well as the installation of ventilation systems. Non-slip flooring has also been laid and new windows installed in a small number of schools, along with new dishwashers and ovens. Sandra Weigel, catering services manager, said: “We are constantly monitoring all of our school kitche...

More than 90,000 school meals were served up in Carmarthenshire during National School Meals Week celebrations. Dylan the Dragon, the Carmarthenshire Catering Service’s school meals mascot, visited some schools to encourage children to enjoy healthy school meals. Three Ambassador Lunches were also held, at Llanelli’s Old Road, Tycroes and Nantgaredig schools, where local councillors, MPs, and food suppliers were invited in for a school meal. The highlight of the week though was a special themed menu featuring a traditional roast dinner – a meal which continues to be a firm favourite in Carmarthenshire schools. As well as being a special treat for children who normally enjoy school meals, it is hoped that the event has encouraged more children to enjoy a healthy balanced meal during the school day. Carmarthenshire County Council’s catering department organises themed days across the whole year as well as competitions to encourage pupils to socialise and try new dishes that they mig...

Children across Carmarthenshire will be getting their first taste of the new winter menu when it launches in the county’s primary schools. The refreshed winter menu is packed full of tasty homemade meals, with exciting new dishes including cheese, pepper and tomato calzone, teisen lap and custard dessert, alongside usual favourites such as mild chilli beef or vegetable chilli and mixed rice peas or sweetcorn. One of the new additions - BBQ chicken or quorn pitta pocket, with mixed salad and herby diced potatoes - was designed by catering staff following visits to various county primary schools where pupils were asked what kinds of meals they would like to see on the winter menu. The menu, designed and implemented by Carmarthenshire Catering Service – part of the county council – follows the Welsh Assembly’s Appetite for Life recommendations to improve the health of children by offering nutritionally-balanced school meals. Whilst working in partnership with Carmarthenshire’s local publ...

Children in schools across Carmarthenshire enjoyed an Olympics themed lunch to get them in the sporting spirit ahead of London 2012. The special meal was laid on across all county primary schools by the Carmarthenshire Catering Service , which is part of the local authority. The meal included a barbecue chicken pocket with cucumber and tomato rings served with diced potatoes, followed by a strawberry butterfly cake and fruit juice. Schools were encouraged to lay on sporting activities throughout the day. Carmarthenshire’s Catering Service regularly puts on themed menus to compliment its existing three-week rolling menu. The idea is to give children the chance to try something new, and to encourage those who usually bring in a packed lunch to try a school meal. Catering Service Manager Sandra Weigel said: “We wanted the lunch to instil a sense of excitement ahead of the games and whilst encouraging children to maybe try new foods and tastes.” A t...

Primary schools across the county have held a special lunch party to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Carmarthenshire Catering Service, part of the local authority, served up a buffet lunch fit for royalty to help thousands of children mark the great occasion. Children were served a selection of sandwiches, pizza fingers, buffet sausages and carrot and cucumber sticks, followed by a decorated cupcake, jelly and fruit squash. Sandra Weigel, Catering Services Manager, said: “It was a lovely occasion and a special lunchtime treat for the children to mark the Queen’s Jubilee.” Carmarthenshire Catering Service serves up 19,000 school meals every day, with every two-course meal analysed by a sophisticated software system for nutritional quality. Lunch costs £2.00 with many families eligible for free school meals. For further information call 01267 246521 or visit www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk

Children across Carmarthenshire will be getting a taste of something special as they sit down for their school meals over the next few weeks. Next week (Monday, May 8th) is the first day of the new summer menu for primary schools, which is packed full of nutritious two-course meals. Staying on the menu is the popular ‘Wednesday roast’, a firm favourite with pupils of all ages, with a range of meat and vegetables to help them towards their five a day. New on the three-week rolling menu is beef and tomato meatballs, served with pasta, tomato sauce and garlic bread, followed by rice pudding and peaches sprinkled with cocoa powder. Other favourites include chicken or vegetable korma served with rice and Naan bread; baked fillet of fish; baked breaded chicken grill and vegetarian loaded pizza. Desserts include Carmarthenshire ice cream served with banana and hot chocolate sauce; oat and raisin cookies served with fruit juice, and chocolate muffins. Each meal is analysed for nutritional co...

Meat and two veg was the order of the day for thousands of Carmarthenshire schoolchildren yesterday. Carmarthenshire County Council’s Catering Service laid on the special menu to celebrate the Food for Life Partnership’s second annual National Roast Dinner Day. The humble roast is a firm favourite with children, and already features on the three-week rolling menus in all of the county’s primary schools. This special event was aimed at encouraging children to become more aware of where their food comes from, how it is grown and the way it is cooked. Sandra Weigel, Catering Services Manager, said: “The feedback we have received from our school cooks is that the meals went down very well, as is always the case with our roast dinners which continues to be one of the children’s firm favourites.”

The number of school children enjoying free school breakfasts in Carmarthenshire has risen by three per cent since last year. The rise has been welcomed by Carmarthenshire Catering Service, which runs the Primary Free Breakfast Initiative on behalf of the Welsh Assembly. Currently, 107 of the county’s 118 schools are taking part in the scheme, with an average uptake of 34 per cent – three per cent more than when last reported. Uptake at individual schools ranges from eight per cent at the lowest, to 90 per cent at the highest. The figures mean Carmarthenshire has one of the highest uptakes across the whole of Wales. The clubs are open from 8am, and pupils enjoy a free breakfast consisting of a choice of non sugar-coated cereal, toast, fruit and a glass of milk or fruit juice. Catering services manager Sandra Weigel said: “We are delighted that so many schools are recognising the benefits of a good healthy breakfast and are signing up to our breakfast club initiative. “Breakfast has lon...