PROVIDING what the customer wants is the guiding principle for the food service industry, yet it has not always been top priority when it comes to school meals.

One school which has taken the principle on board is St Aidan's Church of England School at Harrogate and, as a result, has won praise from the chairman of the British Pig Executive, Stewart Houston.

The school has employed a chef who obtains produce locally and it has seen the number of meals supplied rise from 400 to more than 2,000 a day.

Mr Houston, who farms near Bedale and is also a commissioner for the Meat and Livestock Commission and executive director of the National Pig Association, heard about the school from neighbours whose daughter is a pupil.

He said: "The school had not been satisfied with its contract caterers for some time and when the chance came to make changes, it did.

"The school employed a chef, refurbished the kitchen, retrained the dinner ladies as restaurant staff, started treating the pupils as customers and created three dining areas, one for juniors, a caf and a purpose-built restaurant."

The school uses a smart-card system, which enables detailed analysis of the most popular dishes to be made and can also act as a check on whether pupils are eating a balanced diet.

Breakfast and snacks are available in the caf, while the other areas offer three menus, sandwiches, fast food and a main, 3-course menu with meat and vegetable dishes. Fries are only available on Thursdays.

"The result of all the work is that more locally-sourced pork is eaten," said Mr Houston. "The day I visited, pork, bacon and ham were all on the menu.

"It also encourages the pupils to eat together, tackling the drift away from family eating. If they can do it, so can other schools."

An MLC report has highlighted the potential for children to fail to get to get proper nourishment because they graze and snack rather than eating a healthy balance diet.

Mr Houston said he hoped to visit the school again, this time with MLC consultant chef Tony O'Reilly and trade sector manager Tony Goodger, both to see if they could help and to find ways of introducing the ideas elsewhere.