Chatsmore pupils enjoy Japanese day with Sodexo

Jointly organised by school and Sodexo staff, who provide catering on site, the event was held to celebrate diverse cultures and give youngsters the chance to learn about the origin of the variety of meals that Sodexo offers. Children, teachers and support staff sampled some of the caterer's most talented chefs' culinary skills as they prepared dishes like teriyaki chicken and vegetable tempura. Pat Simmons, Sodexo's chef manager at the school, said: "We had an absolutely brilliant Japanese theme day. The team worked really hard developing different dishes and it paid off as the day was really busy with quite a buzz among the pupils and the staff. People were coming to the hot serve window even when the final bell went. "We had Japanese music and a 'Did You Know?' board about Japan, with cultural pictures and amusing facts. The ladies wore Japanese style clothing with flowers in their hair and we put up some flags and decorations. Aki, our foodservice assistant, brought in some lovely Japanese dolls from home." Stephanie Leigh, business manager at the school, said: "People have been asking when the next theme day is already, as everyone really enjoyed themselves. It was one of the busiest days we have ever had. Praise to Pat and her team who worked very hard and produced a fantastic selection of food."