School caterer wins official recognition from Vegetarian Society

Tue, Mar 17, 2015 14:18 CET

Cucina Restaurants joins The Vegetarian Society Food & Drink Guild

State school catering firm Cucina Restaurants has won Vegetarian Society accreditation, earning the right to display the Society's renowned trademark on all of its vegetarian food products. This symbol, respected worldwide as the only vegetarian logo to recognise the ethical preferences of vegetarians, confirms that the food items on which it appears are free from animal fats and contain no GMOs.

Cucina is widely recognised as a school food industry innovator, being the first school catering company to employ trained chefs to operate school restaurants. It also works with client schools to develop allotments and gardens for the production of fresh produce in its school kitchens.

Welcoming Cucina as a new member of its Food & Drink Guild, Vanessa Brown Head of Business and Catering Services at the Vegetarian Society said, “It’s great to have the school caterer Cucina Restaurants' veggie dishes now able to display the Vegetarian Society approved trademark. Having a school catering company showing this level of commitment to its vegetarian customers, especially in a school environment, makes it easier to be veggie as well as giving reassurance to both parents and students.”

Cucina's founder and Managing Director Steve Quinn said:

"This Vegetarian Society approval gives extra assurance to our customers, who can choose our vegetarian options safe in the knowledge that our recipes and working practices fully comply with the Vegetarian Society's strict criteria.

“Becoming approved was a rigorous process, which I think is great, but for us, this is about more than just compliance, because our vegetarian options have never just been add-ons. As well as being an excellent way to show our vegetarian credentials, the accreditation brings a renewed focus to our work in developing exciting vegetarian taste and flavour combinations for our customers. We are on a constant quest to push the boundaries of what is possible in school food. Our recent collaborations with Phil Howard and Love British Food and our renewed partnership with Professional Masterchef champion Ash Mair are all part of that."

Notes for Editors

* Cucina Restaurants operates 42 school restaurants nationally, with teams of high calibre chefs preparing fresh food daily at each site.

* Founded in 2005, Cucina's unique business model has enabled it to double, triple and even quadruple school food uptakes at all of its new contracts.

* The Vegetarian Society is an educational charity working with businesses, government agencies, policy makers and institutions to promote understanding and respect for vegetarian lifestyles. It is the oldest vegetarian organisation in the world.

Photos:

1. Cucina Executive Group Chef Ian Morgan in school allotment polytunnel

2. Cucina founder and Managing Director Steve Quinn