We take pride in preparing nutritious lunches on site, featuring freshly baked bread or focaccia, a vibrant salads, and a colourful mix of seasonal fruits. Students look forward to favourites such as Teriyaki chicken, slow-braised Mongolian beef, and traditional Italian style pizza.

Our Food Ethos

Chef Sergio and our dedicated culinary team, are committed to serving meals that go beyond basic nutrition - they believe in creating a dining experience that is engaging, inclusive and joyfully diverse.

• Cooked from scratch: Whenever possible, meals are prepared in-house using fresh, minimally processed ingredients.
• Taste and variety: Our menus incorporate a broad range of tastes and ingredients that children enjoy exploring.
• Daily hummus and crudités: Fresh hummus and crudités are made each day, encouraging a relaxed, social dining environment where children can select their own foods.
• Fresh fish weekly: We incorporate fresh fish in to our menu each week, contributing to a balanced and nutrient-rich diet.
• Listening to children: We actively engage with children about their food, what they enjoy and what they are curious about, helping them to build a confident relationship with mealtimes
• Adapting the menu: Our menus are never static. They evolve regularly, shaped by pupil feedback and seasonal availability of ingredients from trusted local suppliers. 

You can find our menus uploaded at the bottom of this page. All meat served at school is halal.

Our overarching goal is simple: to make school meals something children look forward to, while nurturing positive attitudes toward food and wellness. We deliver a full food education programme that ensures children understand where their food is from, the importance of sustainable food production and reduction of food waste, to help protect our future. 

Chef Sergio leads ongoing reviews and updates to our menus, ensuring they remain responsive to pupil tastes, dietary needs and the freshest ingredients available. This dynamic approach helps keep school lunches exciting, nutritious and inclusive for everyone.

Food Education and Enjoyment

Chef Sergio and his team engage with students by visiting classrooms to discuss new dishes, ingredient sourcing, and culinary techniques. Additionally, we cultivate a school kitchen garden and invite volunteers to participate in this initiative.

Gayhurst children also have regularly visits to the award-winning Hackney School of Food, which is situated on the site of our sister school, Mandeville. Here children learn about food from seed to plate in the teaching kitchen and in Hackney School of Food's wonderful productive gardens. With its specially designed teaching kitchen, with height adjustable workstations, and trained Food Educators, the Hackney School of Food delivers a full cookery education according to the National Curriculum. These lessons take place throughout the year, making links to the produce grown in the School of Food gardens wherever possible. You can find out more about the Hackney School of Food on the link below.

 

Free School Meals

Since September 2023 all children have been receiving Universal Free School Meals, regardless of parental income or benefits, thanks to the Mayor of London's decision to offer Free School Meals to all London primary school aged children. However, we still need you to register for free meals if you receive benefits and are eligible to received FSM from Hackney Council, as Gayhurst’s funding allocation is directly linked to the number of families registered with Hackney for Free School Meals. There are also other benefits to Gayhurst families who are registered for Free School Meals - see leaflet below.

You can find more information about Free School Meals eligibility here:

To apply for Free School Meals you will need to first register. Please follow the link above, scroll down the page and click on the Apply For Free School Meals button.