Wealden Times | WT230 | July 2021 | Education supplement inside

Grilled Smokey Bacon Steaks
Education Supplement sponsored by
What’s Cooking?
Benenden School describe their impressive food offering
which has won them a Tatler School Award
Can you run us through the school’s
dining offering? Benenden is renowned
for its excellent food – in fact it won the
Best Food Award in the latest Tatler School
Awards. We are able to offer a wonderful
range for pupils and staff, from home-cooked
favourites to the most sophisticated dining.
You can see some typical menus here.
What do you think makes your school’s
meal offerings special? The quality and
variety of our freshly prepared and locally
sourced food ensures the Dining Room and
Café are the social hubs of every school day.
We prioritise seasonal menus, with lots of
fruit and vegetables to promote good health.
We were very pleased with Tatler’s
description of Benenden’s food, in which
they said: “Fuelling all this enterprise must
be the incredible food: comparable to
Ottolenghi’s finest, these girls eat bowls of
edamame beans, sushi rice with beetroot
and roasted vegetables and skate fillets with
tomatoes and caper berries – all finished
off with the most delicious brownies.”
Do children have access to snacks between
mealtimes? With long and busy days running
from 8.30am into the evening, it is important
for Benenden girls to keep their energy levels
up! There are two specific break times
every day – one in the morning and
one in the afternoon – and the
boarding house kitchens are open
in the evenings for pupils to make a
light snack before bed if required. Fruit
is also available throughout the day.
How often are menus changed or rotated?
New menus are designed each week. Our
fantastic team of chefs are inspired each week
to serve the most delicious food. Enthused
by regular feedback from the pupils and staff,
our chefs create innovative and nutritious
menus, with something for everyone.
We are always taking into account
requests from our pupil body – a great
example being the meatless Mondays
we introduced last year as part of our
drive to be more eco-friendly.
How are reluctant eaters encouraged
and looked after? A wide range of special
diets are catered for, safe in the knowledge
that all ingredients are sourced by the team
and therefore fully traceable. At Benenden,
everyone is wonderful at looking out for
one another and our pastoral team will
quickly pick up on any pupils who
are not eating healthily and will
work with them to help them
achieve a balanced diet.
benenden.school
★ Monday Supper ★
Slow Roasted Italian Pork
Spaghetti Alla Puttanesca
Creamy Polenta
Mushroom Ragu
Garlic, Parmesa
Mozzarella B
Sprouting
Tray Ba
Veget
★ Saturday Lunch ★
Lamb Masala Curry
Sweet Potato, Spinach &
Chickpea Korma
Basmati Rice
Plates: Chicken decoration,
£150 for set of 6 rajtentclub.com;
Newport (hexagons) £38, 1948
(gold splatter), £48, Helsinki
(blue cross), £28, Ether (pale
blue), £18, all jonathanadler.com
Poppadums & Chutney
Garlic Roasted Potatoes,
Garam Masala Spiced