School Catering in Essex
At AiP, we’re passionate about transforming school lunchtimes across Essex with fresh, flavourful meals that pupils love and schools can trust. As one of the leading school catering companies in the region, our mission is to serve nutritious food that fuels learning, supports well-being, and creates a positive dining experience for every child from primary school to sixth form.
School Catering in Essex
At AiP, we’re passionate about transforming school lunchtimes across Essex with fresh, flavourful meals that pupils love and schools can trust. As one of the leading school catering companies in the region, our mission is to serve nutritious food that fuels learning, supports well-being, and creates a positive dining experience for every child from primary school to sixth form.
A Fresh Food Ethos Dedicated to Schools
Our local teams, top chefs, and expert nutritionists focus on improving pupil well-being with delicious and balanced dishes. It’s about understanding the challenges headteachers and bursars face daily with on-site school catering. With founding principles built on quality and trust, we’re proud to be one of the leading education catering companies in the UK.
Food to make students smile
Founded over 20 years ago and operating in over 400 educational institutions, we’re the experts in school catering. Our local-first approach delivers innovative menus full of tried and tested recipes that support pupil happiness and wellbeing.
Food Smart
Built for primary school pupils, Food Smart is about having fun with food, investing in dining spaces, and offering engaging menus.
Kitcheneers
Retail-focused, our secondary school offering is a fresh approach to health and wellbeing with our health by stealth programme.
The Forum
Food Smart
Built for primary school pupils, Food Smart is about having fun with food, investing in dining spaces, and offering engaging menus.
The Kitcheneers
The Forum
Sustainability in School Catering
Sustainability is part of how we operate; presently, we’re working towards carbon-neutral operations. We also recognise the connection between food waste and carbon emissions.
We use digital pre-orders and waste-tracking technology to minimise food waste. We use local suppliers, ‘wonky veg’, and digital pre-order technology to reduce food waste and rotate our menus seasonally to make the most of the UK’s best produce.
Sustainability in School Catering
Sustainability is part of how we operate; presently, we’re working towards carbon-neutral operations. We also recognise the connection between food waste and carbon emissions.
We use digital pre-orders and waste-tracking technology to minimise food waste. We use local suppliers, ‘wonky veg’, and digital pre-order technology to reduce food waste and rotate our menus seasonally to make the most of the UK’s best produce.
Allergen Management
Allergen management is a top priority, and our stringent approach ensures that all pupils can enjoy food safely.
All our recipes carefully consider allergies and food intolerances, with allergen-free menus for those with medical diets, taking the extra steps necessary to keep pupils safe. We offer additional menu choices that cater to vegan and vegetarian options.
A Bespoke Service to Suit Your Needs
We serve freshly prepared food daily through our on-site brands, tailored for all age groups. We work closely with our trusted suppliers and dedicated food development teams to provide high-quality, tasty dishes that make food engaging for the thousands of pupils we serve.
Trusted by Over 400 Educational Institutions
We provide healthy lunches in over 400 schools, prioritising the well-being and safety of our pupils. As experienced education caterers, we are committed to bringing delicious school meals with menus that have complete ingredient transparency, high-quality nutrition, and flavour at their heart.
Encouraging Healthy Food Choices
We believe food should be fun, varied, and adventurous. Our development chefs and leading nutritionists curate menus that encourage pupils to try new foods, discover fresh flavours, and make healthier choices with confidence.
Awards and accreditations
We’re proud to hold many awards and accreditations that speak to our high standards for safety and sustainability
Why work with Us?
Producing delicious freshly cooked meals
Providing a fun environment for the pupils
Delivering a packed schedule of theme events
Employing happy friendly smiling staff
Offering a range of special offers
Introducing gardening and cookery clubs
Facilitating competitions, prizes and rewards
Inviting parents in for lunch
Working in partnership with the school
A friendly and open management style
School Catering in Essex
For over 20 years, AiP has delivered school catering services with innovative menus full of tried and tested recipes supporting pupil happiness and well-being. In Essex, we tailor our approach to meet the unique needs of every school community.
What food safety standards are followed by AiP?
- We have the following ISO accreditation : ISO 14001: 2015, ISO 9901: 2015, ISO 45001: 2018.
How does AiP address allergen management?
- Any child with a dietary requirement complete our special diets form. The kitchen team and the school agree a plan to identify these children as they come into the dining hall at service.
- The form is then given to the kitchen and our nutrition team. Together, they create the information needed for safe meals. In the instance of allergy or intolerances, they will create a menu with at least 2 daily options (in most instances) from which the parent/carer and pupil can choose their meals.
- Once the parent has chosen the meals, the kitchen prepares the chosen items and holds them separately, labelled with the pupil’s name and allergen. This is then served to the pupil as they come into the dining hall with separate utensils and plates.
Does AiP accommodate special dietary needs for primary school students?
Does AiP accommodate special dietary needs for secondary school students?
What Certifications do you hold to certify menu quality and sourcing?
- Food For Life Bronze
- MSC licence
- All meat used is British Red Tractor Certified
Key considerations to take onboard when selecting a caterer for schools?
- What is your number one requirement from a school meal provider?
- Only supplies Education Catering. All of our insight, research, and development is focussed on providing freshly prepared, healthy, and tasty meals to schools, using the School Food Plan and Public Health information as our starting point.
- Can you meet the needs of our diverse school population?
- At AiP, we know that one menu doesn’t fit all schools. We offer a selector style menu so that you can tailor the menu to your needs.
- Queues are a big problem at our school, we need to minimise wait times and get children eating within our timetable
- At AiP, we have come up with several strategies to help decrease waiting times such as sign posting along the queue so that students know what is on offer before they arrive, pre-ordering so that meals are ready when they arrive, direct marketing to parents and students so they’re aware of what’s on offer before they arrive, and opening multiple servery points to split traffic. In addition, our primary school pre payment solution, School Food United, allows parents to pre order via the app to help improve speed.
Do you cater for different types of dietary preferences?
- Yes, we offer at least 2 vegetarian options each day.
- We strive to make our vegetarian options vegan friendly as well. We do offer at least one vegan option each day.
- We participate in Meat Free Mondays.
- All of our dessert options are vegetarian. Some of them are also vegan friendly.
- We do not use pork gelatine in any of our desserts.
- We can offer Halal meat if requested by the school.