School cook's healthy meals become internet hit

A school cook with a "passion for food" said she wants to show people that pupils can eat healthy, home-cooked meals at lunch.

Faye Hughes batch cooks meals in the kitchen at Cedars Academy in Birstall, Leicestershire, in an attempt to get students eating a healthier diet.

She said she believes students "deserve real food" when eating at school.

The mum of three has had millions of views on her videos on social media after she decided to show others what school food can look like.

Hughes started as a kitchen assistant at the school four years ago and decided to ask her boss if she could start cooking meals from scratch.

"We were using jars that cost about £9 or £10 each," she said.

"I just said I can make that with a massive tin of tomatoes, that's about £1.80 and then add herbs, spices and garlic.

"Same with the bechamel.

"I can just make a roux from the butter, milk, flour and cheese and you were adding milk and cheese to the powder anyway.

"It had all kinds of stuff in it, but now you know what you're getting," she said.

The prices of the dinners stayed the same for the children, but the number of sales rocketed.

"When I first said shall we start doing mac and cheese, I think we did 60 to 80 portions that day, now I'm making over 200 portions a day," she said.

"With the popular dishes the queue is so long we can't serve quickly enough."

Due to the success of the meals, Hughes decided to record herself batch cooking meals to try and show what school meals can be like.

"I'm really passionate," she said.

"I believe that young people deserve real food - food that's not processed.

"I like knowing the food that we put out, we actually know what's in it.

"Food affects your mood, it affects your concentration, it affects your energy levels.

"If we're providing a healthy nutritious meal that also tastes really good and keeps them coming back, I'm doing my job."

The cook has since had millions of views on her videos and on TikTok and Instagram, where she has thousands of followers and has attracted attention from all over the world.

"The reaction has been so positive," she said.

"I've even had children in America saying, 'What school is this, I want to join?' and people asking if it's a private school because they think the food looks so good.

"Anything I like making at home, I'm confident I can multiply it by 150 and do it here."

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