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Rob Rees had been in the
job for a day when the
headlines screamed:
‘Lunchtime lockdown for
kids - says new boss of
the School Food Trust’.
Rob laughs. “It wasn’t a barking mad
idea I’d just come up with,” he says,
“and I never used the phrase ‘lunchtime
lockdown’!”
As the new chairman of the organisation
charged with getting children to eat
nutritionally at school, Rob is not the
food fuhrer the headlines might have
you believe.
“I simply suggested a stay on site
policy,” he says good-naturedly.
“And we’ve got a lot of evidence
which shows that the kids like the
idea too.
“Ultimately it is up to headteachers to
implement the scheme. However you
can’t ask people to stay on site without
investing in the site they are staying in.
The dining rooms need to be
somewhere the kids want to eat.”
As well as his role as SFT chairman,
Rob is also a former Michelin-starred
restaurateur, charity boss and consultant
chef but, for now, his number one
aim is to fulfil the “massive task” of
transforming the eating habits of
Britain’s school children.
Rob says: “Classroom teachers value
a stay on site policy, because the
pupils actually return to lessons on
time in the afternoons.
“It is a common sense solution. The
parents are better off letting their
child stay on site, having a good
lunch, at a reasonable price, and
know he or she is safe.
“Does it need to be a national policy?
I don’t think so; it just needs individual
schools to implement it.”
With 15 years’ experience working as a
top chef and in the world of education
and tourism, Rob - who was awarded
an MBE in 2005 - considers himself
“a safe pair of hands” for the role of
SFT chairman. He helped found the
organisation and was a board member
for five years before taking the reigns
from Prue Leith.
“It’s a very different role which goes
with being the chairman,”he says.
“As well as having the passion and
belief in what we are doing here, I’m
also enjoying the strategy and handling
the political game that has to be played
in this current climate.
“We have a clear commitment to
funding our work until 2013, but the next
few years will be about building on
the progress made and making sure
we’ve got a sustainable school food
service for the future.”
These days, it seems, the best way to
talk to the youth of Britain is through
the medium of celebrity. Rob doesn’t
hide his slight disapproval of this.
“We have to accept that in today’s
society a lot of primary and secondary
aged school children look up to them.
Celebrities drive agendas and make
kids do things.”
But when the role model is a positive
one, Rob is happy to embrace them.
For example, the SFT’s latest
ambassador, Olympic medallist
Colin Jackson CBE.
“What a lovely man,” says Rob. “I first
met him in February, and he was a perfect
choice for us, with his links to 2012.
“Colin is absolutely passionate about
nutrition for youngsters and he is
already influencing opinions in
schools nationwide.
“I would love to see more ambassadors
coming forward to say they want to
support the campaign.”
Rob has travelled the globe looking
at how other cultures feed their kids.
He says: “Remember that the UK’s
nutritional standards are the toughest
anywhere in the world.
“But schools are delivering, the kids
are responding and the education is
there for all.
“Of course there are still schools that
have a way to go, and our job is to
help. We will find a way.”
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