Gordonstoun Cooks Up a New Breakfast Menu

While traditional favourites such as bacon, sausages and hash browns have not disappeared off the menu, there is now a greater emphasis on healthier options. We have recently launched a revamped breakfast menu with several new culinary dishes to help our international students feel more at home.

Gordonstoun was one of the first schools in the world to carry out a nutritional study for the benefit of its students in the 1930s when Prince Philip was a student at the school - and the focus on nutrition and food innovation continues in Gordonstoun’s kitchens today.

The new morning menu includes Chinese Broths, such as Yunnan-style breakfast noodle soup with pork (Mi Xian) and Rice Congee Soup (Jook). The dishes are proving so popular that Gordonstoun’s chefs are producing more than 400 portions a week.

For the first time during breakfast, salad has been introduced, while venison, salami, couscous, cheeses such as brie and blue cheese, and French toast with Cinnamon, are also on the menu. North African dish, Shakshuka, will also feature on the menu for those looking to spice up breakfast time.

To ensure we are catering to all tastes, we have a refectory committee, giving students the opportunity to help design the school’s menus and get into the kitchen to cook and ‘taste test’ new dishes for the 400 students eating breakfast each day.

The revamped menu has also been designed to provide students with a range of “brain-boosting” foods to enhance concentration, memory and focus. It includes ‘high-energy’ porridge – with a variety of options such as sunflower seeds, goji berries and cranberries - to help our students through exam time and prepare them for busy sports events.

Our students can also enjoy omega-3 rich smoked salmon with poached eggs, homemade artisan bread and Hollandaise sauce, containing essential fatty acids to absorb vitamins A, D and E.

Our Catering Manager, Jamie Campbell said that, “The relaunch of our breakfast menu features two Chinese Broth dishes offering something more familiar for our East Asia students. The traditional Scottish breakfast is still on the menu but the feedback we are getting from our students is that they want healthier choices in the morning.

“The students on our refectory committee have been very much involved in sampling the new menu and giving their feedback to the chefs to ensure the dishes are as authentic as possible. The Chinese Broth menu was a suggestion from one of our Hong Kong students and after a few attempts and some fine tuning by our chefs, we eventually got the thumbs up from them.

“Many of our European students prefer a lighter Continental breakfast and those from Germany prefer salad for breakfast. The new dishes have proved really popular with all the students and it’s great to see them willing to try something new for breakfast.”

The refectory team of nine chefs and more than 40 Catering Assistants provide three meals a day to hundreds of students and staff. Gordonstoun first put the latest scientific dietary knowledge into practice in 2018. Our “Active Revision” course which runs each Easter, offers a combination of “brain-boosting” foods rich in essential nutrients and antioxidants, with exercise sessions to aid GCSE revision. This has proved so successful that many of the dishes were added to the menu all year round.

Student Howard Cheng, 19, worked with Gordonstoun’s chefs to help produce the new dishes and said, “The new Chinese Broth dish is authentic and delicious. As an international student living far away from home, being able to have a taste of food from home in school gives comfort and familiarity.

“Students have been able to get really involved in the kitchen, meaning that dishes are as close as possible to the real thing, and we have been able to learn new skills and work with Jamie and the Chefs which has been a real bonus.”

Student Sebastian Baeppier, 18, a member of the school’s refectory committee, also said: “It’s great to try new things from different cultures and keeps things fresh on the menu. I really love the Broth, especially the pork dish as it has a bit of chilli heat in there. People are passionate about where they come from, so it makes us feel more involved and part of the school when we can come into the kitchen with Jamie and the chefs to plan new dishes There is a buzz when something new comes on the menu that ends up being really popular and it’s great to be part of that.”

Lisa Kerr, Principal of Gordonstoun, said, “With such a diverse range of cultures and nationalities at Gordonstoun we are always innovating and trying new dishes on the menu to offer our students a taste of home."

Gordonstoun is unique amongst many schools as we have our own team of chefs who cook everything fresh from scratch. We have a team of nine chefs who all have their own unique style and really put their own stamp on each dish. The student input allows us to really deliver on taste, nutrition and variety.

To find out more about what inspectors call, 'sector leading' pastoral care, including the excellent food at Gordonstoun, please contact admissions@gordonstoun.org.uk