INDEPENDENT CATERING
FRESH INGREDIENTS FRESH FOOD
ABOUT US
The lack of quality in school food has been highlighted in recent years but we have always served fresh food since we started the business over 20 years ago.
For more than 20 years Independent Catering has been at the forefront of providing fresh food to Schools and Colleges.
In 1996 Andrew Saunders founded the company with a vision of creating a service based on fresh, locally sourced ingredients. The company still led by Andrew, with a team of passionate skilled chefs, now provides a service to over 60 schools in Kent, Surrey and Sussex.
We are justifiably proud to have been credited by the Soil Association for food standards, and awarded their Food for Life accreditation at all our schools, which underpins our commitment to fresh, seasonal and locally grown ingredients. Our commitment to using the best food that Kent and the UK can offer lies at the heart of our approach and always has done!
Our core values ensure our customers (pupils and school staff) receive healthy balanced, and innovative menus served with a smile by our wonderful dedicated team of catering staff.
Our approach is simple! Great food prepared on site and fantastic value for money for parents.
The long term partnerships we have with our schools are testimony to our food and service ethos.
CURRENT MENUS
Made in your school kitchen! We prepare and cook all our menu items, so if you need to know the ingredients – please ask.
LOCAL and FRESH – Our daily main meals, soups, salads and cold food are made FRESH every day with local (Kent) seasonal produce.
PLEASE NOTE: OUR DAILY MENUS CAN BE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
ALLERGEN KEY
1 Cereals Containing Gluten 2 Crustaceans 3 Molluscs 4 Fish 5 Peanuts 6 Nuts 7 Eggs
8 Soybeans 9 Milk 10 Celery 11 Mustard 12 Lupin 13 Sesame 14 Sulphur Dioxide
No Nuts or Nut Oils are used in Independent Catering Primary and Secondary School Meals. Click Here to download our Food Provenance document.
IF YOU HAVE ANY ALLERGEN CONCERNS PLEASE SPEAK TO THE CATERING MANAGER
PRIMARY SCHOOLS
Organic Spaghetti Bolognese with Homemade Garlic Bread (1, 8, 9)
or Spring Vegetable Shepherdess Pie (Potato)
Roasted Pepper Pasta Shells (1)
Filled Baked Jacket Potato
Sides – Fresh Carrots and Green Beans
Dessert – Apple and Peach Crumble with Custard (1, 9)
Mild Turkey Curry with Rice and Poppadum (1)
or Roasted Butternut Squash and Spinach Cannelloni (1, 7, 9)
3 Cheese Pasta Bows (1, 9)
Filled Baked Jacket Potato
Sides – Vegetable Bhaji and Sweetcorn
Dessert – TUTTI FRUTTI TUESDAY
Roast Chicken with Yorkshire Pudding (1, 7, 9)
or Yorkshire Pudding filled with Mixed Vegetables (1, 7, 9)
Tomato and Basil Penne Pasta (1)
Filled Baked Jacket Potato
Sides – Roast Potatoes, Fresh Savoy Cabbage and Carrots
Dessert – Lemon Sponge with a Warm Lemon Sauce (1, 7, 9)
Choice of Filled Finger Rolls
Selection of Vegetable Sticks
Cheese Straws
Fruit Wedges
Teddy Bear Biscuit
100% Battered Cod Fillet (1, 4, 9, 11)
or Mixed Vegetable Spanish Omelette (7, 9)
Arrabiata Pasta Twirls (1)
Filled Baked Jacket Potato
Sides – Chips, Chefs Salad and Garden Peas
Dessert – Chocolate and Raisin Cookie (1)
Traditional Toad in the Hole with Gravy (1, 7, 8, 9, 14)
or Vegetarian Toad in the Hole with Gravy (1, 7, 8, 9)
Spring Vegetable Pasta Bake (1)
Filled Baked Jacket Potato
Sides – Mashed Potato, Fresh Carrots and Green Beans
Dessert – Traditional Eton Mess (7, 9)
Mexican Style Beef Taco with Savoury Rice (1)
or Oriental Mixed Vegetable Noodles (1, 7, 8)
Chunky Tomato Sauce with Pasta Twirls (1)
Filled Baked Jacket Potato
Sides – Roasted Butternut Squash and Broccoli
Dessert – TUTTI FRUTTI TUESDAY
Available Every Day
Self Help Salad Bar with Crunchy Raw Vegetables
Fresh Baked Bread (1) – Drinking Water – Jacket Toppings (4, 7, 9)
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
Monday 16th July
Mexican Beef Chilli and Rice, served with Crunchy Slaw,
Whole Green Beans or Mixed Leaf Salad (10)
Aubergine and Courgette Lasagne served with
Whole Green Beans or Mixed Leaf Salad (1, 9, 10, 11)
Cherry Crumble and Custard (1, 7, 8, 9)
Tuesday 17th July
Farm Assured Sausages and Mash with Onion Gravy
served with Spring Greens and Peas (1, 8, 9)
Chunky Veg Goulash and Mini Dumplings
served with Spring Greens and Peas (1, 10)
Dorset Apple Cake and Custard (1, 7, 8, 9)
Wednesday 18th July
Garlic and Thyme Roast Chicken served
with Baby Roast Potatoes, Carrots and Broccoli
Summer Vegetable Tart served with
Baby Roast Potatoes, Carrots and Broccoli (1, 7, 9)
Saucy Chocolate Pudding and Chocolate Custard (1, 7, 8, 9)
Thursday 19th July
Beef Rogan Josh and Basmati Rice served with
Bombay Potatoes and Poppadums (10)
Mushroom and Chickpea Curry and Basmati Rice served with
Bombay Potatoes and Poppadums (10)
Mango Cheesecake (1, 8, 9)
Friday 20th July
Breaded Fish and Chips, served with Garden Peas or Chefs Salad (1, 4, 11)
Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Pizza and Chips
served with Garden Peas or Chefs Salad (1, 8, 9)
Warm Salmon Tart and Chips served with
Garden Peas or Chefs Salad (1, 4, 7, 9)
Fresh Strawberry Victoria Sandwich (1, 7, 9)
Monday 23rd July
Italian Beef Lasagne served with Garlic Bread,
Red Cabbage Slaw and Mixed Salad (1, 7, 9, 11)
Mixed Pepper and Spicy Tomato Fajitas with Jambalaya Rice
served with Red Cabbage Slaw and Mixed Salad (1, 7, 9, 10, 11)
Chocolate and Banana Cake with Vanilla Sauce (1, 7, 9)
Tuesday 24th July
Cottage Pie served with Broccoli and Mixed Roast Vegetables (9, 10)
Vegetable and Bean Chilli and Rice served with Broccoli (10)
Pear Sponge and Caramel Sauce (1, 7, 9)
Wednesday 25th July
Roast Gammon and Onion Sauce served with
Baby Roast Potatoes, Cauliflower and Carrots (1, 9)
Vegetarian Toad in the Hole served with
Baby Roast Potatoes, Cauliflower and Carrots (1, 7, 9)
Apple Crumble and Custard (1, 7, 8, 9)
Available Daily
Fresh Chef’s Salad • Whole Grain Bread • Self Help Salad Bar
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR CURRENT PRIMARY MENU
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR CURRENT SECONDARY MENU
PAY ONLINE
Welcome to the Independent Catering’s school meals online payment website. You can make payments for your child’s school meals using your debit card for free or credit card for a small charge.
Please register with SQuid by clicking on your son/daughters School, having received your 16 DIGIT REGISTRATION and 3 DIGIT CVV CODE.
If you do not have your son/daughters REGISTRATION number please email us at info@independentcatering.co.uk stating your son/daughters School Name/Class/Year.
Once you have registered with Squid you can continue to make further payments throughout the school term, also view credit balance and see items purchased.
Top Tip: When you register, use your child’s name as the user name.
This makes it much easier if you have two children at school.
USING SQUID – FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW DO I GET A REFUND IF MY CHILD LEAVES OR MOVES SCHOOL?
Refunds are administered by Squid directly and not Independent Catering. For a full refund please log into your squid account in the usual way by clicking on your school from the list opposite (please remember to be logged into the squid account that you want a refund for just in case you have more than one account). Click on the Contact Us link in the squid website to reveal an email message box and request a full refund and closure of the account.
IF I HAVE MORE THAN ONE CHILD AT A SCHOOL USING SQUID DO I NEED TO REGISTER ALL CHILDREN OR JUST ONE?
Yes. Currently you will need to register each child even if they are in the same school. i.e. if you have three children all at schools who have squid as the online payment option you will have three letters informing you of three different registration numbers and you must set up all three squid accounts. (SEE ALSO QUESTION BELOW ABOUT PAYING WITH SQUID). Squid are currently working on a program to change this but it is not available yet.
IF I HAVE SET UP A SQUID ACCOUNT FOR EACH OF MY CHILDREN DO I HAVE TO SIGN INTO EACH ACCOUNT TO TOP UP THE BALANCE FOR EACH CHILD?
No. You can log in to one of the squid accounts (remember which one you are in) and top up the balance. Then select the friends & family option and type in the purse number for your other child (this is not the 16 digit registration number – it is a longer purse number allocated to each registered account) and top up the balance for that account and repeat this for each account you want to add funds to.
IS THERE A CHARGE FOR ME TO USE SQUID?
No if you use a Debit Card or Bank Transfer (bank transfers can take up to three days to show on the account). There is now a 2% charge for using a credit card.
DO I GET EMAIL CONFIRMATION OF EACH TOP UP?
Yes, if you pay by credit card.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO APPLY THE TOP UP TO THE ACCOUNT AT MY CHILD’S SCHOOL?
Credit Card and Debit Card Top Up’s are applied in approximately 15 minutes. Bank Transfers take up to three banking days to show on the account.
IF MY CHILD MOVED FROM ONE SQUID SCHOOL TO A DIFFERENT SQUID SCHOOL DOES THEIR SQUID ACCOUNT TRAVEL WITH THEM?
No. Currently you will have to register your child at the new school with a new squid 16 digit registration number and 3 digit CVV code which we can provide to you. You will need to contact us at Head office on 01732 746123 or info@independentcatering.co.uk and we will transfer any balance for you.
HOW DO I SET UP MY SQUID ACCOUNT?
If you only have one child at a squid school you can use your (parents) details for both setting up the account information such as name, user name and passwords and your preferred user name. However if you have more than one child and are setting up multiple squid accounts you can use your name, address, email and passwords as above but the user name must be different for each account. As a suggestion you could chose your child’s name as the user name as a method to help you identify which account you are signing into but repeat all the other information in an attempt to have less to remember.
To REGISTER FOR PAYMENTS, CHECK BALANCES or TOP UP at the following schools, please click on your child’s school below
Astor College for the Arts
Barton Court Grammar School
Beths Grammar School
Borden Grammar School
Brockhill Park Performing Arts College
Charles Darwin School
Charles Dickens School
Chislehurst School for Girls (previously Beaverwood)
Clare House Primary School
Crofton Infant School
Crofton Junior School
Darrick Wood School
Dartford Grammar School
Dover Christchurch Academy
Dover Grammar School for Girls
Fleetdown Primary School
Folkestone School for Girls (The)
Godinton Primary School
Hartsdown Academy
Invicta Grammar School
Judd School (The)
Knole Academy (The)
Langley Park School for Boys
Langley Park School for Girls
Lenham School (The)
Maidstone Grammar School
Manor Community Primary School
Newstead Wood School
Nonsuch High School for Girls
Oak Lodge Primary School
Oakwood Park Grammar (Maidstone)
Oakwood School (Horley)
Robertsbridge Community College
Roseacre Junior School
Skinners’ School (The)
Southborough Primary School
St Augustine Academy
St John’s C.E Primary School
St Olave’s Grammar School
Thomas Aveling School (The)
Towers School (The)
Trinity School (Sevenoaks)
Valley Park School
Wallington High for Girls
Warren Road Primary School
Wilmington Grammar for Girls
Wilmington Primary School
EMPLOYMENT
ASHFORD – Primary School Catering Assistant – 11.00-14.30
CHISLEHURST – Secondary School Catering Assistant – 09.30-14.30
FOLKESTONE – Secondary Assistant Cook/Chef – 07.00-15.00 – £17.5k
ORPINGTON/PETTS WOOD – Primary School Chef/Cook Manager – 07.00-15.00 – £17.5-20k
SOUTHBOROUGH – Primary School Catering Assistant – 08.00-14.30
TONBRIDGE – Secondary School Baker/Assistant Cook/2nd Chef – 07.00-15.00 – £15k
TONBRIDGE/TUNBRIDGE WELLS AREA – Primary School Chef/Cook Managers – 07.00-15.00 – £17.5k
WEST WICKHAM – Primary School Catering Assistant – 11.00-14.00
You can either apply online by clicking here or you can download our printable application form here (Adobe Acrobat PDF) and once completed, post or fax it to us at:
Independent Catering Management Limited
125A St. Johns Hill
Sevenoaks
Kent TN13 3PE
Telephone: 01732 746123
Facsimile: 01732 746120
If you do not hear from us within 14-21 days please assume that your application has been unsuccessful or the position has been filled. Application forms are not always kept, so please apply again in future should another school catering position be advertised.
