Education
We are proud to work with some of the most prestigious schools and educational institutions across the UK and Europe.
Food is at the heart of school life, particularly in boarding schools, and we are highly experienced in ensuring an outstanding service for the whole school community.
At Thomas Franks, nourishing pupils is paramount in everything we do. We strive to ensure our pupils enjoy freshly prepared, tasty, and nutritious food every day.
As part of our nutrition standards, we encourage a variety of proteins on the menu weekly including oily fish each week to support cognitive health, as well as a range of beans and pulses for plenty of imaginative plant-based options.
Case Study
St. Julian’s School
A leading international private school based in Portugal, for co-educational pupils aged 3-18. They offer a diverse curriculum and strong arts and sport programme for over 1,000 students. St. Julian’s School is the oldest and largest British International School in Portugal, founded in 1932.
Thomas Franks was awarded our contract in February 2020 and since then, we have implemented significant changes to every aspect of food service. We now offer a wider variety of wholesome, nutritious and freshly prepared food to suit all pupil profiles. This included a new salad area, freshly baked bread and home-made soup every day. In addition, we made a conscious effort to source from local and regional suppliers to reconnect with the local community. Staff also benefited from more nutritional breakfast options such as grab’n’go specials, overnight oat bars, avocado and salmon croissants and weekly full English breakfast. Food was served beyond staff and pupils, as Thomas Franks introduced a hospitality menu including sharing boards,working lunches and buffet options.
With multiple food outlets on the school site to feed both pupils and staff such as a food Tuk-Tuk and the Soft Rock Café outlet, we offered support to the Front of House Team through a dedicated development chef and specialised training, coaching and management from the Thomas Franks team. For the Soft Rock Café in particular, we had to provide additional lunch options to match the increase of uptake and sales. As well as this, Thomas Franks trained the team in all aspects of fresh food delivery and presentation and the management of allergens. We made all our improvements to St Julian’s School with sustainable and environmental awareness.
Case Study
TASIS Portugal
International Private School based in Sintra, Portugal. Being newly built, it has amazing modern facilities and learning spaces for pupils from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade.
After learning about the opening of TASIS Portugal, Thomas Franks applied for a catering contract in mid-2020 and this was then awarded to us in July 2020. Not only have we improved the quality and variety of food but also, the interior design and kitchens.
Thomas Franks introduced new, healthy and exciting options at every opportunity possible. For example at morning break, we served healthy snacks and flavoured water. In addition to this, we introduced wholesome, colourful and nutrient-dense lunch options including tasting portions for the pupils. At Thomas Franks, we strive to ensure that all our food is freshly prepared and so, we offered TASIS Portugal freshly baked bread and home-made soup every day.
Our talented team at Thomas Franks also advised with the design of the newly built kitchen and its extension. This allowed us to offer more catering services such as a hospitality menu including working lunch, sharing boards and buffet options. We implemented all these changes with a focus on social matters and environmental sustainability as it was a key element for the school. The success of our bespoke service to TASIS Portugal, has resulted in us winning an 8 year contract extension until 2027.
