The Kitchen: Jen
McTigue - Chef
Jen joined Lydia as kitchen assistant extraordinaire and ensures that the kitchen is absolutely spotless. She has also shown that she shares Lydia’s passion for food and has taken the lead in the cooking and the creative process, supported by Joanna and Magda.
Our Healthy Ethos
With everything we cook we use Rapeseed or Coconut oil depending on the dish, as I found these to be best due to their high smoke point and obvious health benefits. The main meals are now absolutely jam packed with vegetables. For most dishes I will start with a Mirepoix base (carrots, onions and celery cooked down) then for some, like the Chilli, I add peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, sweetcorn and finish with kidney beans – so much nutrition in there and, despite my worries (especially with the Chilli), plates were cleared. It's been such a success and I'm so relieved.
For our Veggie children we use the same bases as the meat eaters, then just add some Quorn mince or Quorn chicken to theirs. I did initially meet with two of our Mums to discuss the changes to the menu and share ideas which was so helpful to me, (and a lovely morning playing with their little ones). One of them mentioned feeling that Quorn perhaps wasn't the best alternative. I ate Quorn during my years as a veggie so I had assumed it was pretty good, but if our Veggie parents would prefer me to keep to grains, pulses and lots of yummy vegetables I would be more than happy to do that.
Now, the devil, Sugar. I felt a little bit mean cutting out the refined sugar, but I truly think it's the root of health problems and I couldn't justify giving these tiny little people any of it. So it's gone, no more chocolate muffins or Jan's delicious crumbles....I'm so sorry children!! Instead I'm basing desserts around fruit and using honey or organic syrup to sweeten some dishes – although most don't actually need extra sweetness. Instead of ice cream or custard, more often than not the children have natural yoghurt or Alpro vanilla soya yoghurt. I think they actually eat better than I do.
See our latest menu here.
Find out more about information about healthy eating and your child at the School Food Trust website.
Parent"Thank you so much for all of the gorgeous healthy meals, so important and it has helped to turn W from a fussy eater to a boy we can confidently take out for dinner. We will miss Monkton meals and the takeaways so much!"
Maintenance: Dr Ian Poole
Running repairs and maintenance on the building are attended to by Dr Ian Poole, the proprietor's husband. Ian is a retired teacher who holds an enhanced CRB check. Ian worked at Liverpool College as Head of Sixth Form for 27 years.
Parent"Words cannot describe how heartbroken we are to leave. Monkton has grown and turned my little girl into the beautiful thoughtful and intelligent little lady we know today. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and hopefully we’ll be back!"