A school kitchen team had the surprise of a lifetime when TV culinary icon Dame Prue Leith secretly joined their shift to help cook lunch and tackle the pot wash.
The chef and broadcaster swapped her usual television duties for the school dining hall at Stanwell Fields CE Primary in Staines, ambushing Head Chef Clare Collier and her unsuspecting catering team.
Far from just posing for photos, Dame Prue rolled up her sleeves to help the team prep and serve a menu of chicken and tomato orzo with Greek salad to hungry pupils, before finishing her shift at the sink.
A Family Team at the Heart of School Food
The secret visit was organised by national charity Chefs in Schools to reward the team, which is a unique family affair. Head Chef Clare works alongside her father, who acts as her kitchen assistant, and both she and colleague Lucy Gunning have children at the school.
The team goes above and beyond every single day, from decorating the dining hall to ensuring every child is well nurtured and has the fresh, nutritious fuel they need to learn.
Dame Prue, a patron of the charity, was so blown away by their dedication that she declared the kitchen a “blueprint” for the rest of the UK. Praising the standard of the food and the staff, she said:
“I thought the atmosphere in the kitchen was terrific. The professionalism was everything. If only we could clone them and put them all over the country.”
Investing in School Kitchen Teams
The school serves a community where 32% of children qualify for free school meals, and Dame Prue noted that the team refuses to reduce down menus for younger palates:
“They’re not compromising and thinking, ‘Well, because it’s children, we won’t put the olives in.’ I watched the children, and at my table, two of them were eating the olives. It’s just so good for them to taste new things.”
Emma Wiltshire, Executive Head Chef for the LDBS Academy Trust which oversees the school, said:
“In a community like Stanwell where children don’t necessarily have exposure to a broad palate at home, really giving them that opportunity at school is so important. You know they’ve eaten well for the day.”
The success at Stanwell Fields comes amid a growing childhood health crisis in the UK, and right in the middle of the biggest expansion of the school meal system in a generation. From this month, the government is expanding free school meal eligibility to all children from households in receipt of Universal Credit, bringing over 500,000 more children into dining halls nationwide.
With a major statutory overhaul of school food standards also taking place, driving a nationwide shift toward nutritious, vegetable-heavy, freshly baked food, experts argue that school dining halls — and the teams that run them — have a vital frontline role to play.
Nicole Pisani, Chief Innovation Officer and Co-founder of Chefs in Schools, said:
“Our children are facing a massive health crisis, caught between food deserts and junk food marketing. But the dining hall is where we can step in. Food is where we make real connections. It’s where healthy development takes place, where we sit together, share stories, and learn to love good ingredients.
“School is that one special place where we can reach every single child, feed them with care, and give them the fuel they need to truly thrive. Stanwell Fields proves that when you put love on the plate and treat kitchen teams like the skilled chefs and food educators they are, this magic can happen anywhere.”
Dame Prue and Chefs in Schools are now using the surprise visit to call on schools nationally to invest in training kitchen staff.
Training and Support for School Kitchen Teams
Schools and anybody interested in school food wanting to get ahead of the September changes can access a comprehensive hub of support and advice at schoolfoodproject.org.uk. For training support for school kitchen teams, head to www.chefsinschools.org.uk.
