"Hello, my name is David Benson.  I have been in the Catering Industry for 40 years, and I am passionate about good food and good service.  I have a team of eleven staff in the school kitchen who are all dedicated to serving your child with freshly cooked, nutritious food which is prepared daily on site.

We have been an 'in house' operation for the past 18 years and, during this time, have gone from strength to strength.  We are a 'Healthy Eating School' supported by LBA Safety.   We also hold a '5' rating for our food hygiene.  

In 2007, the school became a part of the Essex Networking Team; a group of catering managers from secondary schools across the area.  They meet termly to discuss ideas and incentives to benefit our kitchens.  In school, we have a Healthy Eating Group formed from the School Council, who meet half termly to discuss the catering provision and put forward new ideas and suggestions our students may have.

We have taken on the Government's food and nutrition based standards for school meals which were introduced in 2015.  We use local bread, fruit, vegetables and meat.

Natasha's Law came into force in October 2021, and now all of our food is labelled with allergens or displayed at the point of service.

We offer a 3 weekly rotating lunch menu served from the main school kitchen with a special theme day once every 3 weeks. Also, a 'quick grab and go' servery where cold wraps, sandwiches, a Pasta King bar, paninis and various hot snacks are served.

The catering department operates on a cashless basis.  Payment can be made via ParentPay where your child's account should be credited.  Their account can be viewed and maintained online.  Students must bring their ID card attached to their lanyard to purchase food at any of our food sale points.  Sufficient funds must be loaded onto their ParentPay account ahead of time to cover the cost of any meals purchased.

Students have access to vending machines with a variety of drinks and snacks to purchase using funds from their ParentPay account.

We have a separate Sixth Form Kitchen & Dining Area which serves our Year 12 and 13 students.

If you have any queries, or your child has any special dietary requirements, I would be happy to discuss this with you.  Please contact me at dbenson@buchs.co.uk

We hope that your child enjoys our food and mealtimes with us.  All we ask is that at the end of their meal, they clear their table, stack their dirty plates and place any rubbish in the bins provided.

Click on the attachments below for the range of menus available. 

Allergens

Allergens are monitored on a regular basis and displayed at the point of service or on any packaging.”