Our Nursery food

At Garden Cottage Nursery we strongly believe that children should be encouraged to form good eating habits from their earliest days. Any dietary requirements will be discussed with parents when you register your child with us. Apart from formula or breast milk, it is not necessary for you to provide any other food or drink. All of our meals are prepared with good-quality, local ingredients. Menus are planned by our head chef to ensure all meals are nutritious, well-balanced and tasty. Fresh drinking water is available for the children throughout the day.
For babies weaning from milk to solids, we ensure that they receive a well-balanced selection of food, which can be finger food, smooth pureed or mashed depending on the needs of the child. Wherever possible we aim to mirror how you as parents choose to feed your child at home.

Meal times provide the structure to our Nursery day. However, if a child is not hungry at these times, or is asleep, then food can be stored and offered at an alternative time.

• From 7.30am – breakfast: a selection of cereal, toast and fruit.
• Mid-morning snack: fruit, crackers, rice cakes, wholemeal bread and milk.
• 11.45am – hot lunch: a variety of dishes, including a meat or vegetarian option accompanied by a carbohydrate and vegetables. Children have a choice of fresh fruit, yogurt or a pudding.
• Afternoon snack: selection of fruit or vegetables.
• 5pm – supper: variety of hot and cold dishes, including a meat or vegetarian option. Children also have a choice of fresh fruit or yogurt.

We do not serve foods that contain nuts. All staff who handle food hold a Basic Food Hygiene certificate and have undergone kitchen safety training. The school has a local and sustainable food purchasing policy. Hot food is probed with a thermometer to ensure it is cooked and not too hot before leaving the kitchen. Food temperatures are recorded. Our Nursery Manager or Deputy oversees the monitoring of fridge temperatures and safe storage of food.