Licensee takes over local school dinners

Schoolchildren in an Oxfordshire village have seen their tinned school dinners replaced by gourmet cooking served up by a local licensee.

Paul Clerehugh, of the award-winning Crooked Billet in Stoke Row, is dishing up 60 meals a day for pupils at the Stoke Row Church of England Primary School on a not-for-profit basis, following a request from the school's headmaster.

And the children are wolfing down the meals, with the number opting for school dinners increasing 10-fold. Headmaster Steven McTegart has even attributed a drop in accidents in the school playground to the healthy menu.

Dishes include Chinese pork marinated in honey and egg-fried noodles, and roast leg of lamb with polenta and Mediterranean-style vegetables.

The operation, which sees the school collect the meals from the pub four days a week and the licensee dropping them off on Fridays, was trialled before the summer and has been fully live since the start of the autumn term.

"Previously our council lunches were awful so as a popular local businessman we asked Paul if he could come and have a look at it," Mr McTegart told The Publican."He's been brilliant! He's listened to parents and provided allergy-free dishes. When the council provided the lunches only four or five children a day had school meals, now it's about 60.

"Dining is now a nice experience in the school thanks to Paul. Our accident rate has gone down - I think the pupils are calmer and better for eating healthier food."

Mr Clerehugh said a consultant had checked out the service to ensure that it met all the necessary regulations. "This isn't about making money it's about putting something back into the village," he said.

"The school asks for local food and we keep it as local as possible. The menu changes every three weeks and all the meat comes from within a five-mile radius of the pub."

Last year Mr Clerehugh was named Pub Restaurant Chef of the Year at the Craft Guild of Chefs Awards.