Elveden Estate chef Jonathan Curtis, who was Delia Smith’s first head chef at Norwich City FC, is making Elveden Academy’s school dinners

Could these be the best school dinners in the country?

Venison meatballs with penne pasta and tomato sauce, using venison from the Elveden Estate, near Thetford; pork sausages made at the estate’s in-house butchery, served with creamed potatoes, roasted carrots (vegetables produced on the estate) and broccoli; and sticky toffee pudding with a choice of toffee sauce or custard.

A new partnership between the Elveden Estate and Elveden Church of England Primary Academy – a school of 101 pupils located on the estate – will see experienced chef Jonathan Curtis cook school dinners including these from scratch using, where possible, produce from the estate.

The Elveden Estate is the new supplier of Elveden Academy’s school dinners. Picture: Mark Westley

Chef Jonathan Curtis with pupils. Picture: Mark Westley

And at £2.65 a dinner, parents will be paying the same as they were before.

Last week, children and staff sampled the food mentioned above, which will be part of the menu for the new school dinners, launching after the February half-term break.

Mr Curtis, a Yorkshireman who lives in Norwich and was Delia Smith’s first head chef at Norwich City Football Club, was most recently head chef at the Elveden Inn, one of the estate’s two pubs.

Head of school Anna Syer (pictured) said the school dinners project had been a dream of hers Picture: Mark Westley

Pupils described the sample of new dinners, which they tried last week, as ‘very good’. Picture: Mark Westley

A chef for 40 years, he said: “This project came on the table and I had done a bit of project management before. The school needed a fresh-meal solution and so it came together that Elveden Courtyard would supply it given the location and they asked me if I would head up the project.”

The meals will be made in a newly-refitted kitchen at Elveden Courtyard and will then be transported over to nearby Elveden Academy in hot boxes.

Following the farm-to-fork approach that the estate champions, Mr Curtis said a major part of the link-up was about promoting what is on your doorstep.

The new school dinners menu will include venison and potatoes, carrots and onions from the Elveden Estate, near Thetford. Picture: Mark Westley

Head of school Anna Syer said: “The meals will be made using produce from the Elveden Estate such as venison shot on the adjacent land and potatoes, carrots and onions grown on the fields surrounding the school.

“I believe we may be one of the only schools in the country to be doing this and we are very proud.”

For Mrs Syer, it has always been a passion of hers for the children to be eating produce from the estate - with nutritional and environmental benefits.

The school has also started a gardening club, which will provide produce for the pupils’ snacks – made by a member of the school team - and main meals as well.

Mrs Syer added: “We are really excited [about the project with Elveden Estate] and all of us can see the benefits for the children and the estate. We have been very heavily supported by the estate.”

The project further strengthens the school’s links with the estate, which is where some of the pupils’ parents work.

Mrs Syer said the school, which was previously using a schools catering company, was ‘very lucky’ to have Mr Curtis cooking the meals.

And the children’s verdict on the dinners they tried? A unanimous thumbs up.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver would no doubt be proud.

https://www.suffolknews.co.uk/thetford/venison-meatballs-and-sticky-toffee-pudding-school-s-dinner-9404245/