Daily hot dinners provided for hundreds of pupils
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Presentation and Carambola staff with Minister Burke - Deirdre Shaw, Niamh O’Neill, Emer Hennessy, Olive Mieczan, Claire Dorr, Costanza Curia, Áine Gavigan and Mark Cronin.Image 2 of 6
Aine Gavigan with the Carambola food storage and combined oven installed at Presentation Senior School, Mullingar.Image 3 of 6
Among the parents who visited were Brendan O’Keeffe, Leen AL-Tabba, Lisa O’Reilly, Ian Carroll and Colm Watters.Image 4 of 6
Áine Gavigan and Emer Hennessy with students Katie, Avijele, Ruby, Shakra and Ariette.Image 5 of 6
Bonnie and Michaela were helping to serve tea and coffee to the guests.Image 6 of 6
Samples of the Carambola dinners available on the day.Staff from Carambola school meals served up samples of the hot dinners they provide daily to the pupils of Presentation Senior School in Mullingar for parents who had been invited in for that purpose.
They had a huge range on offer, from the popular curry potato cubes (not chips) to lasagne, pasta and roast chicken with mash, veg and gravy.
In an address to the gathering in the school hall, including Minister Peter Burke, the members of the student council and the Space Dream team (see separate reports), the Carambola team pointed out the high standards they adhere to in preparing the food. There don’t use salt, cream or butter; they use potato cubes rather than chips because they aren’t fried, and they have a particular focus on waste reduction, and on responsible reuse of recycling of unavoidable waste.
Mark Cronin, national catering manager, said the company use modern technology at each of the schools they supply, in the form of a device that acts as a fridge in the morning when the dinners are delivered freshly prepared, and an oven coming up to break time, to heat the food up for the children.
Carambola school meals was founded by Aideen Browne, a native of St Brigid’s Terrace, Mullingar, and she remains joint managing director with her husband, Colm O’Brien. They are based in Limerick and they have 150 staff in schools across the country.