Nathan Scarlett – School Chef and Rising Star

Here, Nathan shares a bit about his journey to becoming a school chef, and talks about how he makes it work:

Tell us how and why you became a chef?

I became a chef basically because I loved to cook when I was in school. It was my way of escape — coming from care (Nathan experienced 9 different foster homes during his childhood) , cooking gave me something creative to dive into. It was almost like a distraction from what was happening in my life.

Tell us a bit about your background? 

During and after college, I worked at top restaurants such as Corrigan’s Mayfair, then Chez Bruce. I was also a teaching assistant for a little while. I love teaching children and so I was actively looking to mesh both these experiences together. 

At Henry Cavendish, I lead the kitchen teams across the Balham and Streatham sites. Each site has a head chef, who cooks food from menus created by myself and the pupils. I oversee the orders that come in, deal with any issues, and I’m usually the one negotiating directly with suppliers to make our budget go as far as possible. 

And you also deliver food education?

As food educator, I run a Monday evening after-school club for a maximum of about 10 children, taking them through a full-term module of cooking classes, things like making bread, doughnuts, seafood paella, sushi, and fresh pasta, alongside teaching them the science behind it, like why you have to keep salt separate from yeast.

How do you encourage children to eat nutritious meals? 

We have meal ambassadors, which is one child from each class, which represents all things food. And I sit down with them and they give me a list from their classmates of different stuff they want on their menu. I look at it and see if it’s compliant, I can put it on. And so our menus are child-led. And I think what happens at our school is that because children are involved they tend to eat the food and also they want better food. 

Can you really feed children healthily and within budget? 

Yes! Have a conversation with local suppliers, give them your budget – and tell them you are passionate about feeding these children. There are suppliers out there who want to work with you – and that’s what we’re seeing. If they don’t, you go somewhere else. 

When you break down the cost per child to feed, it’s about £1 per child per day for the actual food cost. So, it’s very tight. But, we manage it with smart menu planning. For example, a Monday and a Wednesday would be a vegetarian day and then basically that justifies us being able to have things like brisket on the other day because you carry the cost over. Is it possible? Absolutely. Will children eat it? I’m proving it every single day. 

Any advice for complying with the new school food standards? 

Get ahead of these changes and start making them early, so it’s an easier transition for both the kitchen and the children, rather than waiting and then having to overhaul everything at once.

What are your top tips for school caterers?

Listen to the children. When children don’t like the food, it’s the on-site chef who gets the blame, even if they didn’t design the menu. My top tip is to make yourself visible, when you’re seen, and you’re actually having conversations with the kids eating your food, it inspires you to do better.