Wilson Vale supports The Real Bread Campaign in independent schools

‘Give us this day our daily bread’ has become a reality for pupils throughout Wilson Vale’s independent schools contracts nationwide as the caterers get behind The Real Bread Campaign. As well as having joined the campaign, Wilson Vale has rolled out a series of bread-making workshops to ensure their chefs have the skills to make their own speciality breads every day throughout the majority of their independent schools contracts.

Real Bread Campaign coordinator Chris Young said ‘It’s great to see Wilson Vale adding real bread- making to their staff members’ skills, putting all-natural loaves on their menus, particularly in schools, and teaching kids lessons in loaf.’

Phil Hindmarch, Wilson Vale area manager, is the force behind the company’s Real Bread initiative. He has even gone as far as to work night-shifts at an artisan bakery near his home to learn new skills so that he can share them with his colleagues at Wilson Vale

He said: “We have always made our own bread at Wilson Vale but now we are getting behind the Real Bread campaign to take our skills to a new level. I’m completely hooked on good bread! There is nothing better than the smell and taste of freshly baked bread and I think it is great to bring traditional bread-making skills into a school environment to enhance the quality of the bread we serve. What’s more, it ensures that our bread is healthy and nutritious as it gives us complete control over what we are putting into it.

”Basic, ‘real’ bread needs only four essential ingredients; flour, salt, water and yeast. That’s it - no processing aids, fats, artificial additives (which includes most flour 'improvers', dough conditioners and preservatives), chemical leavening (e.g. baking powder) or anything artificial.”

While Wilson Vale will continue to buy in sliced bread for their traditional, hand-cut sandwiches, it is the speciality breads on the deli-bar and to accompany home-made soups that are set to rise in quality.

Freshly-baked focaccia, ciabatta, malted wholemeal, semi-sourdough, soda bread and many more now appear on Wilson Vale’s menus nationwide.

Andrew Wilson, co-founder and managing director of Wilson Vale, said:” Our chefs are baking and serving savoury, speciality breads such as feta, olive & baby spinach focaccia and chorizo, mascarpone & parmesan ciabatta. Sweet varieties include apple crumble & ginger preserve focaccia and rhubarb & apple focaccia.

“The use of fresh, quality ingredients is key to keeping food standards high in schools. It is the little touches like making real bread and baking cakes in-house that really set the standards in a school dining room. Our independent schools contracts are extremely enthusiastic about this too and we have been asked to have bread-making sessions with pupils at several of our independent schools – which should be fun! It’s great that we can share these traditional skills with a whole new generation.”

Copylines PR. Tel: 00 353 21 435 8517. Email: patkinson@copylinespr.com

Wilson Vale is an independently owned catering company, established by Andrew Wilson and his wife, Carolyne Vale, in 2002. The company specialises in high quality catering services, mainly within the B&I, conferencing and independent schools sectors. Current annual turnover is £18.5 million and Wilson Vale employs 550 people nationwide.  www.wilsonvale.co.uk

Tags: