As the largest county in England, North Yorkshire is home to 25 secondary schools and nearly 300 primary schools. Joanne Simpson, Area Manager for catering facilities at North Yorkshire County Council is part of a dedicated team responsible for serving over 40,000 meals a day.
After meeting at LACA, Joanne and the council rolled out the professional dispensing system, Wrapmaster across its school kitchens within two months, as part of the council’s strict policies on hygiene and food safety.
Joanne explains;
“Food Safety is a top priority and we were keen to source new products that will help us to maintain the high standards we have in our kitchens, ensure we provide the very best levels of food safety, as well as meet the needs of individual pupils and their welfare. We must be very careful, and Wrapmaster helps keep the kitchens clean, reducing the daily hazards linked to having film, foil and parchment in the kitchen.”
One school that’s already benefitting from Wrapmaster is Applegarth Primary School, Northallerton. With 16 years in the industry, the bustling school kitchen is run by Tracey May who is responsible for feeding more than 200 pupils a day – Tracey and her two-chef team must work quickly and methodically, mindful of those pupils with allergies.
“It’s a big responsibility and safety is very important” says Tracey. “We have a number of allergens including dairy. There’s a strict system in place with dietary sheets on each pupil, so we can prepare food safely and Wrapmaster provides an easy, fast and very safe solution. I like the fact we can wipe it and wash it daily.”
Joanne adds;
“It’s much better for kitchen safety. Hygiene is paramount and Wrapmaster is so clean and tidy, you can put it in the dishwasher and wipe it down so there’s no chance at all of cross-contamination.”
Since Cofresco Foodservice partnered with North Yorkshire County Council, Applegarth’s catering team has been using the Wrapmaster 4500 to dispense 45cm cling film and foil, as well as the smaller Wrapmaster 3000 (30cm wide) for baking parchment. With sustainability a key focus for the council, this was another positive for Joanne.
“Waste is really important. I like that the larger Wrapmaster 4500 can be used to cover bigger trays with foil and the smaller Wrapmaster 3000 can be used for wrapping platters and sandwiches with cling film and lining trays for baking.”
With food waste monitored daily, Tracey agrees;
“In the kitchen we reduce waste wherever we can. Everything is cooked to order and we assess what’s left and adjust future orders. It’s great that you can choose a Wrapmaster depending on whether you’re wrapping smaller or larger items. You’re using just what you need and not wasting anything.”
So, would Tracey recommend Wrapmaster to other school caterers?
“The Wrapmaster is a lot faster and easier to use, anything that saves time in the kitchen is a good idea!”
With positive feedback, Joanne and the team are planning to add another dispenser to primary school kitchens.
“For me, Wrapmaster is safer, faster and cleaner. We’d like to introduce another dispenser into our primaries, where they will use foil and parchment.
The feedback has been all very positive, Wrapmaster is clean, tidy and just looks better in the kitchen.”
Wrapmaster is part of Cofresco Foodservice, a division of Melitta UK Ltd. The award-winning range includes the Wrapmaster 3000, Wrapmaster 4500, the Wrapmaster Duo which dispenses two types of material, or can be used for large volume users of one material and the Wrapmaster Compact.
