It was started by chef Gary Stewart after he had been working for many years in contract catering.
He said: “I’d become very disillusioned with contract catering; my working day had become less about food and more about meeting targets and I believed that as we were creating a child’s lunch, we were contributing to the health of the nation.”
CMC’s first client school was Manor Park Primary Academy in Birmingham, which continues to be a partner. The company has expanded since and now boasts clients throughout the Midlands, in London and the East of England as well as in the north as far as Cumbria.
Adds Gary: “We even have a number of the original catering managers still in post, so we must be doing something right.”
He says the introduction of the Government’s School Food Standards in 2002 and the recommendations of The School Food Plan in 2013 mean that school meal standards have improved over
the last 24 years.
“I’ve welcomed the improvements that school meals have seen. My goal when I set up CMC was to get good food back on the plates in schools and make lunchtime an integral part of the day.
“Schools know their pupils and what they want and they have the autonomy to make the decision of how catering should work for their school.
“I now see our business model being delivered by other companies and that makes me feel justified that my original idea was the right thing for schools and academies.
“It’s about finding the right balance between being commercially viable and offering the right food on the plate, this gives you longevity in the market place and security for your staff and clients.”