I am delighted that Pollen will be overseeing the catering and hospitality at Holmwood House. Healthy food and good nutrition are the heart of what we do at Pollen. Freshly cooked and served by our trained teams of Chefs, using seasonal ingredients that are sourced locally, which ensures your children enjoy a nourishing lunch every day. Our hot lunches consist of a selection of freshly prepared main courses or vegetarian options, together with a daily created salad bar. Our tempting, varied desserts also have various other daily options including fruit and yoghurts.
Our meat is purchased from local, traditional butchers based within 30 miles of the school and who make their own sausages and bacon on the premises. All Beef, Lamb and Chicken are sourced reliably and are always British.
Our vegetables are also sourced locally with a strong emphasis on British seasonal produce. Our hand-picked suppliers provide us with home-grown fresh farm produce offering a wealth of seasonal fruit and vegetables. All their packaging is bio-degradable which also fits well with our eco-vision at Pollen.
The children we cook for are subjected to lots of influences from both celebrities and social media which is having a huge impact on their diet and lifestyles. We have noticed in recent years, children and school staff becoming flexitarian, vegetarian and vegan – we are very mindful of these diets and we ensure we focus on this to increase our options to suit all tastes.
Allergies are very common in our society and we ensure ALL our staff are trained to the highest levels and our catering teams are dedicated to providing safe and enjoyable lunches. We ensure we can accommodate a variety of food intolerances and are always available to help and advise parents/carers with any issues they wish to discuss.
Sustainability is high on our agenda and we encourage the development of Pupil Food Committees wherever we work so that we can all work together to make a difference. How our food is packed, where it comes from and what we eat are concerns we all have and here at Pollen we are eager to educate and change.
We work hard to avoid food wastage and where possible turn any waste into compost which we in turn use when growing our herb gardens at each site. Our relationships with our clients and staff is critical so we only operate in the south east which means that our management team are never more than 60 minutes for any of the sites we operate.
As we become settled at Holmwood House, we will be inviting parents to our Chefs Table for lunch and to see first-hand what we do and we will be actively involved in various cookery events and themed days with the school.
Simon Silvester
Owner and Managing Director