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Home | Do Something! | The Campaign | Jamie Speaks | Food Most Fowl | Porridge To Pizza | Find out more
We caught up with Nora Sands in the kitchen at Kidbrooke School, and asked what it's like when a film crew and celebrity chef invade your kitchen.
How did you learn to be a dinner lady?
Just a minute dear, I'm finishing me order – so, next week we need coriander, courgettes, chillis, peppers, red and white onions ... Good. That's done.
So, now – I trained on the job. Started as a kitchen assistant 15 years ago. Now I'm called 'Unit Manager', but I always sign myself 'Cook'!
What was it like, working with Jamie Oliver?
I knew he was a celebrity, but I didn't look up to him because he was famous. I just thought of him as someone who was coming in to help me. People asked me: 'Will you be frightened of him?' And I said, 'No,' because I realised he must have felt terrible, coming in and not knowing how things worked. It must have been like it was for me when I went to his restaurant, Fifteen – I was a nervous wreck!
Jamie said you had to kick his backside a few times ...
(Nora roars with laughter) Yes, we did end up having a go at one another. He wouldn't write anything down! He inspired us, don't get me wrong. But we used to argue about things – like we had a row about my knife skills. I reckon knife skills are great if you're working in a restaurant preparing small quantities, but when I've to chop 12 kilos of peppers for a stir-fry, I need a machine!
And I was going mental about the cost of ingredients. Half the stuff he wanted I couldn't even pronounce the names, I didn't know what it was – I'd never seen galangal or lemon grass, never used fresh tarragon. He'd go home at 5pm and I'd be ringing him up asking, 'What's this? What does that look like?'
Christ, I was like a rank beginner. I learned loads and loads from Jamie. He's so creative, you couldn't keep up with what he wants to put in a dish. I must have been dead before he came here. He inspired me, and I got a new lease of life. I couldn't go back to how we worked before.
What was the best thing for you about filming?
There was nothing good about it at all! I'd tell the film crew to sod off – they were getting in my way. They were the nicest people, but I didn't want to talk to them, I was too busy soaking up everything I could learn from Jamie. And when they were there with their cameras and all, the kitchen looked like a battlefield – with the battle still raging!
Mind you, I don't think it hit me while they were filming that this was going to be a real programme, and I'd see myself on TV. Now I'm nervous, but at the time I didn't really think about it.
How's it been at school, introducing the new menus?
I'd say to any other school thinking of making these kind of changes, just do it. We did half and half for a while – offered Jamie's food and the old menu, and the kids took burger and chips every time. Jesus, I was so fed up, it was beautiful food and they wouldn't try it, they just kept moaning, 'When are we going to get our proper food back?' So we stopped that. We haven't served a chip at this school since the end of May 2004. Now we have 500-600 kids come in and enjoy this lovely food every day and not one moan. They take their salad, yoghurt and fruit and they sit down and eat the lot. Before, they wouldn't look at veg or salad.
Give us an idea what you're serving them – what was on the menu today?
Today we had vegetable cannelloni, 200 portions, and it all went; or there was fish in a creamy, curry coconut sauce – they lapped that up. Other things we cook are lemon roasted chicken; proper sausages with creamy mash and gravy; cheesy pasta with leeks; tortilla wraps; chilli beef fajitas. We even have our own fishmonger now, and a butcher!
Has all of this changed the way you cook at home?
Don't be silly, I don't cook at home – I live up here! But my food indoors hasn't changed that much. There's no butternut squashes or aubergines at home, and I've not taken the olive oil to my frying pan. I like my eggs fried in dripping. My daughter, she likes pasta, but I prefer potatoes, boiled in their skins. Jamie and me, we're friends now, and I said to him, you talk about pasta but I still prefer my potatoes and you should see the look on that man's face: 'Have I taught her anything?'
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