Restaurant
At Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School we have a catering service with our partners Cucina who provide healthy, value for money meals made from the freshest, high quality, local produce.
All food and drinks on sale in school form part of a healthy diet and conform to school food standards. A wide range of food is on offer to students and staff at meal times.
Breakfast: 8:00 – 8:30
Hot breakfast items, cereal, toast and hot drinks available. FREE porridge for all students (toppings 35p each).
Break: 10:35 or 10:55 [10:25 or 10:45 on Thursday]
A range of fresh bakery items are offered such as baguettes, rolls, wraps, sandwiches and baps as well as cold pasta and fresh fruit pots.
Lunch: 12:55 [12:35 on Thursday]
Students can choose from:
- The main meal - a hot meal and dessert also available to “grab and go”
- Jacket potatoes - with hot or cold filling and side salad
- Pasta bar - hot pasta with a selection of sauces and side salad
- Snack bar - sandwich, rolls, baguettes, wraps, cold pasta pots, fruit pots and crudités
Cashless Catering at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School
We do not ask students to bring cash into school. All students are automatically set up with a catering account. Like many schools we use an electronic system to pay for items from the restaurant.
Our system can:
- Recognise each individual student
- Hold individual cash balances
- Record cash spent and cash received
- Record where money is spent
- What food is purchased daily and the date and time
How are restaurant purchases made?
Students can purchase food from the main restaurant. Each student will use their thumb print to identify and access their catering account. After selecting their restaurant items, the catering colleague will see the student’s name, picture, form and current balance held within the system. The selected food items will be entered into the system from an itemised keyboard while the amount spent and the new credit balance will be shown.
How is the money entered into the system?
The preferred method of adding money to the students account is via the School Gateway, if you are not already registered please click the link below.
click here
Alternatively you can add funds by cheque which should be made payable to Cucina Restaurants Limited, NOT the school. A post box to receive payments is located on the wall in the school restaurant. Please write your child’s name and form on the back of the cheque.
What is the suggested cheque value?
We suggest £15.00 - £30.00 is appropriate but it can be for any amount. Unfortunately, cheques returned due to insufficient funds are charged £5.00. This will be deducted from future credit balances.
How will the student be able to check the current credit balance held in the system?
Every time the student spends money in the restaurant, the till shows the available credit left on the card. Additionally users to the parent gateway app can view balances and purchase history.
If we pay for a set number of school meals, can it be spent in one day?
No, a daily spend limit of £7.50 will be set for all students and no food above that limit can be purchased. On request, you can request an individual daily spend limit of your choice. This daily limit will apply to break and lunchtime purchases that day.
What if the student does not hold a sufficient credit balance to pay for a school dinner?
No student is refused a school lunch because they have forgotten their card or have insufficient funds. The restaurant will allow a student one meal only until funds are added to clear the debit balance on the account.
Pricing
Unfortunately the cost of living also impacts the prices our catering provider Cucina charges our students and staff. In the recent past Cucina has reviewed their prices twice a year. The school’s approach to the price rises is to try and minimise the increases for the main meal of the day. This presents the best value and the most nutritionally balanced food available. We also ensure any price increases for fruit and salads are kept to a minimum.
Reducing Landfill Waste
Working with the school’s amazing Green Group, there have been larger reductions in the amount of single use plastic and the waste going to landfill. Our food waste is treated separately in our waste collections. We also hope that the introduction of Generation Juice will reduce plastic use further still.
Introducing Generation Juice
From the start of this school year we are launching a range of exciting new drinks which will greatly reduce our use of plastic and encourage the use of reusable bottles at school. Schools of a similar size to Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School throw away around120,000 plastic bottles and cans each year! More details can be found in the document below.
Students and staff will help themselves, using the modern touch screen, to any of the 6 different drinks. These include water flavour-fusions such as Raspberry Peach, Summer Fruits and Watermelon together with the popular Tropical, Mandarin Mango and Cherry juice drinks. All drinks are fast-pour and deliciously chilled. Even better news is that the drinks will cost only 80p for a 500ml portion and 60p for 250ml.
Please remember to pack your reusable bottle (minimum size 500ml) to school, so that we can all cut this plastic use and waste, offer better value and enjoy great hydration with the delicious new chilled drinks. The school also offers the choice of 2 school branded reusable water bottles and can be purchased on the School Gateway.
Menus and a price list are available to view below.