04/07/2012

Restaurant Owners Commissioned To Review School Meals

Two founders of restaurant chain, Leon, have been asked to carry out a review of school food in England.

Education Secretary Michael Gove has invited two of the people behind the London-based chain, which markets itself as offering healthy fast food, to look at nutrition in schools.

Mr Gove has been under fire from TV chef Jamie Oliver over school meals. The chef has also said academies should not be excluded from school food guidelines.

Currently academies do not have to comply with the rules on food standards that apply to other state schools.

Visiting a primary school in Hackney, London on Wednesday, Mr Gove said the review would take the reforms instigated by Jamie Oliver's campaign to "the next level."

Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent of the Leon chain, which is based in London and the south east of England, will visit schools, talk to experts and study research for their review.

Leon co-founder Henry Dimbleby said: "Jamie Oliver shone a light and made people see how bad things were.

"It's a lot better on average than it was, but it's still not good enough in a lot of schools."

Mr Gove has said the action plan they come up with can be "radical". They will report back to him in 2013.

(H/GK)


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