Food glorious food!

 “Please sir, can I have some more?”

Oliver Twist may have asked this tentatively but here at Hebron the catering department delights to hear students’ eager requests for seconds of their delicious meals!

 

At Hebron we appreciate that food matters, so the following is a little taste of life at Hebron.

 

The meals prepared at Lushington Hall campus and Selborne campus are carefully planned to ensure they are nutritionally balanced, well presented and tasty.  A kitchen committee exists (consisting of representatives from the catering department, staff and senior school students) and meets regularly to discuss comments and suggestions made by students in a continuing effort to improve and refine the meals at Hebron.  The focus of the kitchen committee is to monitor the provision of a healthy, balanced, diet for each child at Hebron, so their diet will include all the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients required for healthy growth and development. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meals are served in a large student dining room, a junior school dining room and a staff dining room.  The Selborne kitchen serves breakfast and supper on weekdays and all meals on weekends and the Lushington Hall kitchen serves all meals, everyday of the year!  More than 20 people a day work in the kitchen and dining room to prepare, cook, serve and clean up after meals.  Cleanliness and hygiene are a high priority and monitored closely.

 

Students are served their meals and are expected to eat a small portion of vegetables, salad and fruit with each meal to ensure a balanced diet is maintained.  A vegetarian option is always available for each meal and other special dietary and medical needs are catered for (e.g. For Diabetics and children with allergies). Vitamins (Vitamin C, Calcium and Vitamin B) are encouraged and available during breakfast for students to assist them in maintaining optimal health and wellness.  If a child is unwell, a special “bland diet” (consisting of soup, toast, rice) is always available from Hoz (school clinic).

 

 

The menu at Hebron is carefully prepared to offer a mix of traditional Indian food and International cuisine.  A menu board is situated outside the main dining room displaying the current week’s menu so students are able to view in advance their choices for mealtimes.  Breakfasts mostly consist of cereals, toast and eggs (variously prepared) and on Saturdays an Indian-style meal is offered.  Lunches always offer a western style sandwich option for those students who struggle with the flavour/spice of a more traditional Indian meal.  Suppers are usually based on International recipes and presented in a more western style, including a soup, main course and dessert.  Fruit is always served at each meal and plenty of fresh, safe, drinking water is available during meal times.

Morning and afternoon tea are served each day and usually consist of buns, biscuits or homemade cakes/slices.  Fruit juice cordial is served to junior school with Chai (sweet Indian tea) available for older students. Thursday suppertime is designated as “Special Supper” and features a buffet style meal with choices for salads and hot vegetables – and is always accompanied by yummy ice-cream!

Children are allowed to use “table tuck”(condiments, sauces, pickles and other favourite spreads or drink powders) to compliment the food served and is kept in the student dining room and accessible to students during meals times.

 Individual dorms incorporate “Noodle Night” and “Toasties” nights into the weekly calendar.  These snacks are prepared and eaten in dorm and these have always proved to be immensely popular with students.  Dorms will also schedule several lie-in-breakfasts over the course of the year.  This is when a dorm doesn’t have to come to the dining room for breakfast but instead cook their own special breakfast, e.g. sausages, eggs, pancakes etc. in the dorm after enjoying a sleep in.  Dorms will also schedule special “meals out” as a weekend activity, taking the students to one of the many safe and tasty restaurants in Ooty, or they may enjoy a freshly cooked BBQ by the pool or a homemade pizza night.

Students are allowed to bring special snacks and treats as “tuck”, locked in a steel tin in the dorm and distributed at set issue times at the dorm parent’s discretion.  From Std 10 students are given cooking privileges in the dorm and self monitor their tuck.

Dorm parents are able to order Home-baked Birthday cakes from the kitchen to celebrate a student’s birthday with their dorm.

 Special Food Events on the Hebron Calender

 Food Week:  Each year, to help encourage students to make healthy food choices, a special Food Week takes place.  During this much anticipated week, students enjoy an amazing food adventure and are treated to buffet-style lunches eaten outside tasting a wide range of international and local Indian specialities.  Student feedback from Food Week is always extremely positive and appreciative.

 Clubs: Each year during “clubs” time, students are given the opportunity to join a cooking club.  During club time the students prepare and then eat their creations.  Last year there were speciality cooking clubs which included;

• BBQ club
• Indian cooking club
• Baking club

These clubs are always very popular, so first in best fed!

 Food Technology: Food technology classes are also enjoyed from junior school to standard 8 as part of the students’ timetable.  During these lessons, students get to prepare and eat their own gastronomic creations, whilst learning about food and the importance of good nutrition.

Here is a sample taste of our current menu:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like any further information about our meal provision at Hebron then please contact the school via the principle.  Thank you.