We are continually striving to improve the quality of our menus and the ingredients used within them. It is our aim to source products as locally as possible in order to support the local economy, reduce food miles and protect the environment. Here is a flavour of some of the key ingredients we currently use.

Meat and Poultry

Beef
All our beef and beef products (e.g. meatballs) are British, organic and supplied by Lower Hurst Farm on the Derbyshire Staffordshire border, using beef from their own herd in Hartington or from other UK organic farms that are as local as possible. It is a fully organic farm, with its own native breed cattle, where animal welfare and cattle are managed in a natural and stress free way. Their product traceability is excellent with each animal carrying full UK organic ID and the name of the farm of origin.

Lamb, Pork, Chicken and Turkey
All our lamb, pork, chicken and turkey is supplied by Redfern’s Farm Shop, Buxton.

Lamb
All the lamb we use is English and local, coming from Redfern’s own award winning commercial flock at Flagg (winners at Telford, Leek, Chelford Markets in 2008, where award criteria is carcasse quality; good yield; high muscle index; not too fatty etc) or from local farmers within the Peak District. By Autumn 2009 their revamped on-site abbatoir will be fully operational which will ensure their lamb reaches us with even fewer food miles.

Pork
All the fresh pork we use is British and purchased as locally as possible. Our sausages are made locally to an award-winning recipe (1st and Reserve Champion in the pork sausage category at Newark and Nottingham Shows 2008), have a 75% meat content and a seasoning mix with 25% less salt.

Chicken and Turkey
All the chicken and turkey we use is English and meets the Red Tractor Criteria (Red Tractor is a an Assured Food Standard which guarantees that the poultry is British, that food safety and hygiene standards are maintained as well as standards for animal welfare and the environment). Our chicken dishes use only 100% chicken fillet with no added water, from chickens reared in the North of England. The turkey is reared in Cumbria and Lincolnshire.

Eggs
We use 100% free range eggs. These are supplied by a local egg producer in the Goyt Valley whose chickens are well fed and cared for and enjoy fresh air and plenty of space to roam.

Fish
All our fish is supplied fresh by R.G Morris and Sons, a local family business who have been supplying fresh fish throughout Derbyshire and surrounding counties for 6 generations. Their fish is bought direct and/or daily through Manchester Fish Market, the second largest and best inland fish market after London.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential in childrens diet. Salmon is rich in Omega 3 and for this reason has been included in our new menus. All the salmon supplied to S. Anselm’s is reared in Scotland and the majority comes from Shetland. Haddock is Scottish or East Coast (changes daily) and cod is bought from Lowerstoft. Both haddock and cod, whenever possible, are bought off the ‘day boats’ (fishing boats that go out on the tide and return on the tide, rather that large trawlers that fish for days at a time) which means that the fish is fresher when landed and often little more than 24 hours old when it is delivered to us.

Our fishcakes and fish pie are home-made and all other fish dishes are prepared and breaded on site.

Dairy
We use fresh semi-skimmed milk which provides the same amount of calcium as full fat milk but contains less fat. We serve low fat yoghurts- again with the same amount of calcium as full fat varieties.

Fruit and Vegetables
All our fruit and vegetables are supplied daily, 6 days a week, by Fresh and Fruity in Buxton. Our menus use all fresh vegetables, with the exception of peas, sweetcorn and diced potatoes which are frozen. Potato wedges are homemade. We also use some frozen berries. Many of our recipes include fresh herbs, supplied by The Herb Table at Hathersage.

Most of the vegetables we serve are lightly steamed to retain their texture and as many nutrients as possible. Our base tomato sauce, which is used in a number of dishes, such as meatballs in a tomato basil sauce, includes carrots, celery, courgettes, fresh basil and tomatoes- all ‘whizzed down’ to disguise the extra vegetables.

We are working towards using more seasonal fruit and vegetables in our menus to sustain quality and freshness and have included some ‘seasonal vegetables’ sections on our menus so that Julie can have some flexibility in her choices.

Children are encouraged to eat plenty of fresh fruit. The snack at morning break includes fresh fruit and a varied fruit basket is available at breakfast, lunch and supper- as dessert or in addition to dessert. The fruit basket is now available at breaktimes and match teas. 

Bread
Our fresh bread is delivered daily by Brookfield Bakery, Tansley. Our formerly white loaf bread, used to make breakfast toast and sandwiches at tea time, is all now all ‘half and half’ (ie half white and half wholemeal) which is contributing to the increased fibre content of the school menu. Since September we have gradually been introducing wholemeal bread. Other breads we use include malted wheat grain, pitta bread, naan bread, wraps, baguettes and demi baguettes. Pizza bases are made on site. Very often bread accompanying pasta on the menu (e.g. herby bread) is made by Julie and her team.

Sauces
All the sauces in the dishes on our menus are prepared by Julie and her team on site, rather than being bought in pre-made.

Vegetarian dishes and ingredients
A vegetarian option is always available. These are home-made on site. We also sometimes use Quorn, a quality brand that enables us to offer a purely vegetarian alternative source of protein to meat.