Le Menu - Best School Food

Our Executive Chef, Olivier Hubert, continues to ensure that every menu choice is an opportunity to shape our health, our performance, and our wellbeing. It is this that directs the provision at lunchtime, at break and in the café.

Students are provided with a balanced menu, which yes, does include cookies! At lunchtime every student has a choice of four hot meals including at least one vegetarian option. If something lighter is the order of the day soups, jacket potatoes and a wide range of salads are available. To finish off, students can choose from a hot dessert, fruit or something from the cake counter.

After school, our Café is open for those students staying for supervised prep or for an after school club or activity. Packed teas are available to order, particularly handy for those rushing off to rehearse or play sport.

Olivier and his team regularly meet with the Student Council to discuss the food provided. Similarly, at the start of their time at St Helen’s and regularly through their school career, Olivier meets with students with special dietary requirements to ensure they are happy with what is being provided.

At St Helen’s food is more than just a snack or meal. It is also an opportunity for students to socialise with friends, a fundamental human pleasure. At St Helen’s, food is very important, and when students take parents on tours of the School, the Refectory is always one of their first ports of call. The excellence of our catering team has been recognised with an award from Tatler Magazine for 'Best School Food'.

As part of the national push to reduce plastic waste, Olivier has also introduced eco-friendly cups to the staff room and Sixth Form Centre. These cups and lids are compostable and biodegradable, while any plastic cutlery has been replaced in its stainless steel equivalent.