Pub feeds pupils Jamie Oliver style
Children at five primary schools in Lincolnshire are set to sample Jamie Oliver style lunches thanks to local licensee Ian Quill.
Quill, who runs the Blacksmiths Arms in the village of Rothwell near Market Rasen hopes to start the school meals service at the end of the month after obtaining a £7,000 development agency grant for new kitchen equipment secured by Pub Is The Hub.
Quill says he will be cooking for an estimated 200 children at first but expects the number to more than double if the scheme catches on.
The Blacksmiths already enjoys a busy food trade but freehouse owner Quill says cooking school meals is something entirely different.
"The Jamie Oliver team have supplied us with menus and lots of advice and we are almost ready to go.
"The whole accent is on healthy, nutritional meals presented in a way which will be attractive to young children," he said.
"Apart from fresh materials and honest cooking presentation will be the key to the success of the scheme.
"Parents of children at the schools are very supportive and we are confident it will be a big success," he revealed.
Former Bass pub manager Quill has a budget of just £1-60 per day for a two course meal for each child and admits profit margins are "very tight."
Dishes will include slow baked Balsamic Beef , Sausage & Mash with Home-Made Baked Beans and Herb Crusted Fillet of Fish.
The scheme is just one of 28 projects now taking shape in the region following the award of the £140,000 awarded to pub schemes by the East Midlands Development Agency.
