Edsential

Sometimes parents don’t get to see what’s being served in the dining hall — and online menu selections don’t always tell the full story.
But across all our catered schools, there are four things you can always count on — and they’re exactly why Edsential Catering is a healthy choice. 🍽️

How do we help pupils make healthy decisions in the dining hall?

As a catering provider, there are some non-negotiables:
We make sure all our meals meet School Food Standards, we provide fruit every day, and we always offer vegetables and side salads.
We also offer deli options for pupils who don’t want a hot meal… but how do we encourage a child to choose the veg, pick up the fruit, and not opt for a ham sandwich every single day?

We’ve been exploring ways to build nutrition into the foods pupils already enjoy — from adding hidden beans and veg into homemade sauces, to incorporating ingredients like dates, oats and even pes into desserts!

Because sometimes, supporting healthier choices isn’t just about telling — it’s about gently guiding, testing, and adapting.

From a marketing perspective, there’s another challenge:
We don’t often communicate directly with parents — we work through schools.

So how do we:
Share the full story of what goes into our meals?
Support schools in promoting healthy choices?
Build trust and understanding with parents?

We’re always looking to improve.
Next up, we’re planning to trial tasting sessions with pupils — testing whether they can spot the hidden ingredients — and turning it into a campaign to spark conversation around healthy eating. We'd love to share some of our school recipes with parents to try at home too!
But we’d love to hear from you.
👉 Teachers
👉 School leaders
👉 Parents
👉 Anyone working in school food or health
What actually works when it comes to encouraging children to eat healthier?

A hands-on step back in time with Squirrels class at Shocklach Oviatt C.E. Primary School 🐿️✨

Year 3 & 4 group (with a few little Foxes joining us 🦊) fully immersed themselves in the Stone Age — starting by harvesting nettles, carefully processing them into fibres, and transforming them into twine and cordage 🌿

Once their cordage was complete, the creativity really kicked in…
🔗 Plaiting rope
🪓 Lashing slate to sticks to create axes
🏹 Crafting bows and carving arrows

An incredible day of learning, teamwork, and bringing history to life — all through hands-on outdoor skills 🙌

HSE Emergency First Aid & Paediatric First Aid INSET Day last week ❤️‍🩹

2 day courses available to individuals or we can come to you to deliver it to your entire team🤝

Ideal for school & youth organisation settings. To find out more DM us or click the training link in our bio!🔗

Sneak peek 👀
New menus are on the way: reduced-sugar desserts with 50% fruit, and fresh, fibre-packed lunches made with wholefoods and wholemeal ingredients.
More details coming soon…

James Parker, one of our experienced outdoor practitioners, received this outstanding feedback from St Winefride's School last week for supporting Outdoor Classroom Day.

If you want to do something similar, our outdoor practitioners would love to come into your school if you are based in Cheshire, Wirral, Halton or Greater Manchester area.

🍛 This week’s spotlight: Curry
At Edsential, nutrition comes first. Our curries are made with simple ingredients and homemade sauces, designed to keep pupils full, energised, and ready to learn.

This year pupils from Sacred Heart Primary took our super hero themed lunch to the next level & came in dressed up 🚀✨

Looks like it was a big hit! 🙌