Food is a basic necessity, and the culture of a kindergarten is not only reflected in the daily teaching, but can be felt in every detail. As an important part of ensuring the nutritional health and safety of all our students and teachers, meals are a vital and important element in students school life.
Today, we are taking a look at the staff behind the canteen. Through the real daily life providing a snapshot into their daily routine.
At 5am, when the city is still sound asleep, a group of people are already at the entrance of the kindergarten early every morning. They are the kindergarten canteen staff, who show up at this time every day to start the day's operations.
As soon as the first light comes on in the campus, the canteen staff quickly change their clothes, complete their morning checks and greet the morning delivery vehicles coming in.
Vegetables, fruits, meat, seafood, grains ...... Even with the deep trust provided by the leading agricultural and livestock enterprises in China, such as Shenliang Beige Kitchen Food Supply Chain and Pagoda Group supplying our food, we trust but verify. Every fresh ingredient must pass through the "care" of chefs, inspectors and Logistics Director to ensure that every ingredient is in line with the kindergarten and national standards.
Inspectors are conducting pesticide
residue tests on the day's vegetables
After the first round of screening, the chef still carefully washes and cleans every ingrediatent. From the Meat washing station, fish cleaning station, poultry washing station ...... Even the eggs have their own washing area, so it is easy to see that the staff uphold a rigorous standard toward ingredient inspection and cleaning.
On the other side of the white wall, there are guidelines on equipment usage, management and operational procedures. One chef even shared, "They have memorised every rule, so they will strictly follow the guidelines every step of the meal preparation."
As the children approach, the whole canteen becomes more and more rushed in its operations. Today's breakfast was steamed dumplings with cabbage and pork, along with steamed corn and fresh Yantang A2 milk. The staff had to chop and mix the fresh fillings before starting to hand wrap the dumplings, but of course, during the busy period they also needed to ensure that the other dishes were prepared at the same time and in accordance with the time requirements.
When the children arrive at the campus, they are usually the first to head to their classrooms or the multi-function room. " What is for breakfast today?" they ask with anticipation, and we can see that the delicious breakfast is one of the reasons look froward to coming to school.
After breakfast, the children begin their education exploration of the day as usual. Meanwhile, the canteen staff never stop and are once again busy at work: this time they are washing and cutting; cutting and washing ...... Delicious fruit is their next task.
Halfway through the morning, the children go back to their classrooms and begin to enjoy their snacks delivered by their life teachers. For the younger children, the warm and caring life teachers assist with peeling, feeding and wiping their mouths, while for the older students, we encourage them to eat and clean on their own.
It's just after 11am and the kitchen is already producing a wonderful wafting aroma. Yes, the canteen has already finished making today's lunch, with a wide range of dishes, bright colours and tantalising aromas ...... A few staff are waiting in the wings then put on their masks, gloves and other "professional food gear" and begin testing, sampling, and setting aside food samples.
In another corner of the canteen, several completely different meals are laid out in an orderly way. These are 'special' for some of the children and are recorded from the first time the chef receives information about the children's allergies and requests for meals, which are then finalised before each cooking session. The allergy signs and guidelines are posted everywhere by the canteen staff and the class teachers, who are also "one of the main people" in charge of the special dietary considerations. We all hope to use our care to support the development of our children.
During the children's nap time, the canteen staff take back all the used cutlery. The cleaning and disinfection process may have caused them to forget just how many plates they have wiped and how many pairs of chopsticks they have scrubbed today. But they all know that it is their strict adherence to the cleaning and disinfection process that provides the children with hygienic and safe meals.
After a busy morning, the canteen staff take a short break. This is a precious time for them, as they not only have to finish their lunch in a very short time, but also get a bit of rest after the high intensity of the morning's work and quickly recharge to ensure that they can continue their role as "food guardians" in the afternoon.
Before the children's naptime alarms go off, the canteen staff are back in action. Today's afternoon snack included a wide selection of porridge, coconut bread and two-coloured buns. With the help of modern equipment such as ovens, enamel pans and steamers, the pastry chefs cooked up a variety of delicious snacks for the children and won high praise from the students and teachers!
The endless anticipation of afternoon snack seems to have become the "natural alarm clock" for many of the children. As the children's smiles gradually spread, the logistics Director, who had been hiding, finally feels relaxed and left.
The afternoon was not a long one for the canteen staff. A great deal of chores await them after the children's afternoon snack. It's Friday and time is even tighter than usual. Every Friday afternoon they need to meet with the Logistics Department to work out the menu for the following week in advance, taking into account the children's nutritional intake indicators and the richness of the dishes.
As the sunset fell through the clouds inside, the children who attended our evening care service were already looking forward to the evening meal. Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, fried cabbage with dried shrimp, steamed meatloaf with sage and sliced meat vegetable soup. The kindergarten's design principles of 'less oil and salt, controlled sugar and limited fat, and diversified nutrition' are followed in every meal.
In the course of a day's cleaning and tidying up, the canteen staff not only have to dispose of products past their best before dates, but also need to sort meat, seafood and other ingredients for refrigeration or quick-freezing, as well as the essential daily cleaning and full disinfection of the central kitchen ...... Detergent and disinfectant become their most familiar smells, and their rough and calloused hands are a testament to their responsibility.
When it was finally time to go home, they looked up and realised that the stars had already filled the night sky. The deep moonlight and the headlights of the cars on the street reflected each figure in a particularly moving way.
Everyone's time is the same, but it is also different. For the kindergarten canteen staff, the 24 hours of the day are made up of a single "insignificant" moment. They may think that what they do is just an ordinary job, but it is this dedication to health and detail that supports the growth of the students at Ardingly College Zhongshan(Kindergarten).
There are many other staff members who are as dedicated as the canteen staff: the security guards who patrol in the morning fog, the cleaning staff who shuttle between floors, the hardworking school nurse ...... They are all used to shining in silence. It is thanks to them that the children here have a quality school life and continue to thrive.
