Chartwells Allergy Aware

Chartwells Allergy Aware Special diets are an extremely important part of our catering provision We currently cater for approx. 8000 special diet pupils each term Chartwells create 1200 special diet menus for our pupils Termly we see an average 34% increase in special diets requests on a termly basis.

Special Diets YOY 34% increase in menus!

Increased demand With growing demand its important we review our procedures to ensure it remains, Fit for purpose Best meets the needs of our clients and customers Minimises any risk to our pupils and staff Therefore…. We have reviewed our way or working and from April 2018 we are introducing to our special diet process the new Chartwells Allergy Aware Menu

Allergy Aware Menu What? Allergen friendly menu with reduced number of 14 EU allergens Cover majority of individual & combination requests for EU allergens Some allergens may remain to allow for popular dishes (e.g. fish) Alternative option always available Non EU allergens catered for individually on separate menus Benefits Reduce number of menus written by special diet team Time alleviated to concentrate on 'non EU menus ‘ E.g. East Sussex 160  70menus Nottingham 29  2 menus Reduce risk for in unit teams  ONE MENU Improved alignment with all special diet pupils How? Client conversations Parent conversation Communication with ops When? April 2018

FFL Spring/Summer 2018 Menu Week 1 ALLERGY AWARE MENU 1.Allergen Friendly dish will feature every day and directly aligned with core menu 2. These dishes may contain ingredient amendments to make them suitable for our special diet pupils. VMC codes will always be provided and this change should be made for all special diet pupils 3. Some allergens may remain on the menu in order to offer menu variety if this allergen is unsuitable for any pupil they should be given the alternative dish Mediterranean Family Favourites Traditional Global Adventure Fun Day Allergen Friendly Dish Mediterranean Summer Beans* with Rice (*contains sulphites) Chicken Burger with Jacket Wedges (*contains celery) NO MAYO / USE GF BREAD ROLL 105514 Roast Pork with Roast Potatoes & GF Gravy 28324 Beef Chilli USE GF GRAVY 28324 GF Fish Fingers & Chips* 115800 (*contains fish) Alternative Dish Jacket Potato with Baked Beans Vegetables Crunchy Salad Peas Sweetcorn Seasonal Cabbage Carrots Broccoli Cauliflower Baked Beans Desserts Wedges of Melon * and Orange Raisins & Sultans 115255 Jelly Pot Fresh Fruit Orange Mango Frozen Smoothie 32572 Please be aware some allergens are still present on the menu, these have been highlighted in blue. Where this allergen is unsuitable for your child they will be provided with the alternative dish. 4. Phase 1 all desserts will be 'allergen free’ however we will work with Food Dev and Commercial for next menu change to increase variety

Testimonials Merrick Dale (Regional Manager) “In November 2017 the Special Diet allergen aware menus were introduced into the DIH & Simplicity contracts in the Newport Pagnell business encompassing 91 individual schools. This has greatly reduced the risk of a wrong special diet being served to a pupil due to the fact there were so many codes and variations of the old special diets an accident was waiting to happen, and there were a few near misses! However with the new allergen aware menu the risk is zero, as all dishes are all allergen free Currently a few dishes on the standard menu are allergy free when these dishes are on the standard menu and the special diet menu these dishes can be served directly from the counter, the system has worked well and the pupils who have the special diets now feel more inclusive as their meals are the same as the other pupils”

Testimonials David Tungate (Regional Manager, North East Lincs) “The switch to ‘allergy free meals’ was a very welcome change from an operational point of view.  The reduced risk that this offer presents was certainly not lost on the parents and heads and they welcomed this extra level of safety”

Testimonials Meg Longworth (Head of Nutrition & Public Health) “This process makes things so much easier for the cooks and catering managers! I’m also really pleased that the new special diet menus are still very well balanced and in most instances, the children are eating similar dishes to their peers. I’ve worked closely with hundreds of parents over the last five years and I think they’ll be pleased to see Chartwells simplifying the process and ultimately reducing risk for their children.” Stephanie Hall (Head of Compliance & Special Diets) “Safety is our number one priority and we are always looking for innovative ways to improve our special diet procedure. I am confident that our new allergy aware menu will help minimise any risk to both our pupils and in unit teams providing a safe and enjoyable way for special diet pupils to enjoy school dinner”

Any Questions? Chartwells.Specialdiets@compass-group.co.uk