Lucky kids are dining on 'pub grub' for school dinner - after no-one applied for the job of their chef. St Just Primary School in Cornwall advertised a role of cook at the end of last year - but has received no applications.
But local pub chef Matthew Osborne has temporarily stepped in to stop the kids going hungry - and is cooking meals at the school and the kitchen at Commercial Pub. The last chef to work at the school was actually Matthew's wife Kelly - who handed in her notice as cook just before Christmas after finding employment elsewhere.
And despite the cost of living crisis the school has received no applications for the job as school chef. The Government is currently trying to introduce a series of schemes to encourage people back to work.
Out of 180 pupils the school canteen caters for around 125 daily - rising to 150 on a Friday. Former hotelier dad-of-two Matthew, whose daughters both previously attended the school, started helping on Monday.
He said: “Obviously they’ve had an advert out for about a month now, but they just can’t fill the role. That’s why we stepped in to help out the best we can. I’m a St Just lad, and one of the cooks at the school is actually my sister, so it was a good way of being part of the community, and helping the community - but also earning some brownie points with my family.
“They have a very good reputation at the school for their food so I’ve just been trying to maintain good standards and replicate what they’re already doing. I’m not sure how long we will keep this going or how long they will take to find a new chef.
''We’ll obviously keep helping them out for as long as they can, and try and be there with them for as long as they need. Thankfully the post-Christmas period tends to be a bit quieter, so we have some time to help them out where they need it at the moment.
''It is a different style of job to what I’m used to, especially because of the larger numbers of customers. They’ve got around 150 students down there, compared to my usual 100 or so customers up here at the hotel, so it takes a bit of getting used to.
“It’s generally me doing most of it, but I do get help getting food down to the school each day from one of the owners here at The Commercial. We started on Monday after coming up with the idea last week, I just wanted to lend my experience and help out.
''Both of my daughters went to the school, so it’s a good way to give back when they need us. The school is only two minutes down the road from where we are. The owners here at the Hotel are very keen to help out too, so that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Andy Bowman, the school's acting head teacher, said he very much wants to keep the kitchen running as he believes it's an essential part of school life. He said: "It's knowing the children. It's caring for the children. It's the extras like when we have parents' evening or camp, they'll [the school cook] help out. It's far more than feeding the children and that's what we are losing."
Andy said replacing "absolutely brilliant" Kelly has proven near "impossible" and the school is becoming "desperate". If the chool doesn't find a replacement Andy fears he will be forced to find an organisation that caters for schools, but fears it result in the nutritional value dropping.
He said: "Talking to other heads of schools, I do not think the quality is there. I was talking to one head and she said for the older children, they were actually also buying in extra food because the portions weren't as good."
