A York takeaway owner is looking to expand his unique business.
David Nicholson operates School Kitchen from Carr Junior School in Acomb and hopes to branch out to Chiswick, West London.
Since launching in March, the business offers seven different takeaway choices and utilises facilities out of hours times.
David cooks in Carr Junior Schools kitchen during evenings and weekends.
He said he not only aims to serve good food, but help schools financially by renting their kitchens, teach children about cooking, and provide decent standards for staff.
School Kitchen customers can order from their website or on Deliveroo, and have a choice of Spanish, Italian, Sri Lankan, Thai or Mexican dishes.
A fresh take on classic British school dinners is also on offer, in a menu designed with the help of celebrity chefs including Matt Tebbutt and Nadia Hussain.
Positive impact
David originally conceived the idea before the coronavirus pandemic, and launched the business with help from City of York Council business growth manager, Brian Littlejohn.
He also received help from Steven Lydiatt, of business and development specialist Momentic’s Start and Grow York programme.
He said: “I wanted to do something that would have a positive impact on the community, so I came up with the idea of School Kitchen.
“The idea was to use kitchens that already existed, not just because of the cost but also for environmental reasons.
“Schools only use their kitchens at lunchtimes, but if we could use them when they finish then the schools could share some of the revenue too which would help with their funding.
“We’ve also done cookery demonstrations for the kids and provided food for free breakfasts.
“We do all the deliveries ourselves on bikes or electric mopeds and all our packaging is compostable.
“Everyone who works for us is a proper employee, we don’t have anyone on a zero-hours contract and we pay them a living wage.
“We have chefs who specialise in making different things and there’s a mix of experience, some have worked in the industry for years and others are just starting out.
“All the profits raised from the School Dinners go to fund free breakfast clubs.”
Possibilities of a second York school kitchen are in the works with Millthorpe School in South Bank, subject to planning permission.
David also plans to expand the business into schools in Leeds, Sheffield, and Harrogate.
Cookery programmes
Despite the current successes, School Kitchen took a while to get off the ground.
Schools showed an interest in the idea, but none of them wanted to be the first to offer up their space.
David said: “There were worries about safeguarding and cross-contamination of food for people with allergies, and we also had to get planning permission.
“We’re now looking at setting up cookery programmes and an apprenticeship scheme.
“If we are able to expand into Millthorpe School then we’d like to take on pupils who are leaving and train them up.
“We’d also like to do more cooking clubs in schools. We’ve done some where we took the kids out and showed them where their food came from before making it, we’re working with schools to look at doing that in a more comprehensive way.”
Oliver Johnson, a director at the Excel Learning Trust which includes the Carr Junior School, said pupils have benefited massively from the unlikely partnership.
“It’s wonderful to see School Kitchen flourishing and making such productive use of our high-quality kitchen facilities outside of school hours.
“Not only does this partnership generate a modest income for our Trust, but it has also created additional benefits for our school community since the company began operating from Carr Junior School.”