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*Cucina has won the contract to provide catering services for more than 1,100 pupils and more than 100 staff at four primary schools in Cambridgeshire, UK. Cucina will be delivering catering services to Abbey Meadows Primary School, Morley Memorial Primary School, Newnham Croft Primary School and Ridgefield Primary Schools in Cambridgeshire after Easter. *

“We were extremely impressed by the quality of Cucina’s food and the professionalism of the service. Cucina has a passion about providing a really good meal for our children at lunch time which is exactly what we want for our school. We particularly like the fact Cucina is going to be working with the curriculum, alongside our staff and children during events such as our international week and parents’ evenings. This is exciting. We wanted a proactive firm working with our parents and this is what we’ve got with Cucina.” Head Teacher of Newnham Croft Primary School Jacky Jones enthused.

Cucina has recruited award winning Chef Ian Morgan, who has previously worked with Michelin starred Chef Gary Rhodes, to create fantastic fresh food for all four Primary Schools, which are feeder schools for The Parkside Federation charity in Cambridgeshire. Ian helped open “Rhodes”; the successful Gary Rhodes restaurant in Manchester and has also held the position of Head Chef at the famous Hotel Felix in Cambridge.

Innovative menus designed by a top nutritionist will be introduced to ensure that all pupils and staff will benefit from the fresh, great tasting food provided by Cucina restaurants.

Commenting on the choice of Cucina Head Teacher of Abbey Meadows Primary School Chris Beddow said: “We chose Cucina because they had a real vision for what they can do for us. This will be so exciting for the school children to experience. I wanted to offer the children a better dining experience. Part of the attraction of Cucina is that everything except frozen peas and sweetcorn is fresh. This freshness is what we want to provide for the children. Since we’ve decided on Cucina, the children, pupils and staff are so excited about trying their lunchtime meals.”

Cucina Managing Director Steve Quinn was pleased that the company’s fresh food approach helped the schools make their choice. He was also “over the moon” that Ian Morgan had joined Cucina and suggested that “a chef of Ian’s calibre, who has worked alongside Michelin chefs like Gary Rhodes, to create innovative menus and train existing staff, should help us go from strength to strength and will have real benefits to the pupils and parents at these fantastic schools.”