Meet the man who changed school dinners in the UK

Anyone who was brought up in the UK will recall British school dinners, redolent of soggy cabbage, lumpy mashed potato and very average tough and chewy meat.

I even recall in my school we had a stew that we called tube stew, because of the poor quality of the meat and a pie called donkey pie which appeared for the first time after the mysterious disappearance of several donkeys from fields nearby!  We even had a very dubious “pudding” called Ganges Mud!

In any case, enough of the past as apparently that has all changed, with much of it down to Rob Rees who is visiting Australia at the moment to promote the South West of England, with Rob sparing a moment out of his hectic schedule to enjoy a delightful Sydney spring evening function in the garden of the British Consul General in Sydney, Mr Tim Holmes’ official residence.

[Pictured above from the left: Mark Haynes, Marketing Manager, Visit Britain; Craig Ondarchie, Director Australia and New Zealand, South West of England Regional Development Agency; Judy Watkins, Regional Manager Australia and New Zealand, Visit Britain, Tim Holmes, the British Consul General, Sydney; and Rob Rees.]

Rob Rees is one of the UK’s leading chefs but also it appears he is a man who is tirelessly committed to creating a revolution in the food culture of Britain right through from schools to restaurants, including his own at one time, the Country Elephant Restaurant in Painswick, which was rated highly by the Michelin, AA and Egon Ronay guides. He has also worked at the Royal Crescent Hotel Bath, the Bath Spa Hotel and also for the renowned Roux Brothers.

He said “I’ve had 15 years of cooking for restaurant inspectors” says Rob, “and now I enjoy cooking for the pleasure of it, with fabulous ingredients and surrounded by foodie friends”.

Rob has been a leading proponent of healthy eating in British schools, saying that 6million healthy school meals are now eaten in the UK ever day, with he believed Britain now having the best school food in the world with the toughest standards anywhere in the world.

In terms of tourism, he said that he believed that Britain now also had some of the best food in the world, whether it was in a B&B or a 5* hotel, a massive improvement having taken place over recent years.

When asked what British Cooking today really meant, he said in his opinion there was no such thing, because Britain has chefs and skills from all over the world which brings the very best of international cuisine into Britain and when this was matched with Britain’s excellent produce, the combination created a fantastic result.

For more information on Rob Rees, visit www.robrees.com or www.thecotswoldchef.com

For more information on the South West of England, visit: www.sw-england.com

For more information on Britain, visit www.visitbritain.com.au.

A Report by The Mole