Tasty treats from Tracey

Tracey Ibbertson came to Educare straight from leaving the sixth form at school and spent a few years as a nursery nurse before moving into our kitchen to share her passion for food and gain qualifications in professional cooking.

Educare’s policy is to serve healthy and nutritious dishes and that’s what Tracey prepares five days a week.

A breakfast of toast and cereals sets the children up for the day and the lunch dishes vary depending on the time of year – we have summer and winter menus, which change every week on a rotation basis.

Spaghetti Bolognese, chicken chasseur and sausage and mash are all popular among the children. Tracey also serves up home-made bread and pizza and snacks including fruit, vegetable sticks, cheese rolls and crackers and plenty of milk and water.

And when it comes to puddings, anything with custard means clean plates all round!

Everything is made in our kitchen, sometimes even using produce from our garden, and every care is taken to ensure we cater for the dietary requirements of each child in our care. So no eggs, or anything else that might cause tummy upsets, but that doesn’t stop Tracey from turning out a winning bacon carbonara.

Following our recent Food Safety and Hygeine inspection, Tracey gained the nursery a grade 5, the highest achievable. The report that followed the inspection stated ‘it was pleasing to find good standards and systems in place’ Well done Tracey!

Try two of Traceys most popular recipes for yourselves, but don’t ask us for proportions unless you’re cooking for 70!

Bacon carbonara

Trim the bacon and sautee in a pan with a little oil or butter.

Add chopped onion and cook until soft.

Add plain flour and mix into a roux, gradually stirring into a thick sauce with milk.

Add optional vegetables such as sweetcorn, mushrooms or peppers, stir in some grated cheese and season to taste.

We serve the spaghetti and the sauce separately so the children can mix it themselves.

Peach crumble

Canned, halved peaches work best with this.

Drain the peaches and place face down on baking trays.

In a big bowl, mix plain flour, sugar end margarine into a crumble and sprinkle on top of the peaches.

Bake until nice and crispy.

It’s like a nice, big peach biscuit. The peaches should be juicy and the crumble dry, so serve with Educare children’s favourite – custard!