Annabel Karmel set to shake up ECEC menus with Australian partnership

UK Chef and author Annabel Karmel has partnered with Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider, Kids Club, to redesign and innovate their menu offerings in a bid to “mark a shift in how food in ECEC is consumed in centres nationally”

The move comes as FeedAustralia statistics show that up to 67 per cent of a child’s daily dietary intake occurs whilst in care, and follows feedback from parents in Kids Club centres, with a survey conducted by the group showing that only 23 per cent of parents using their services deel in control of their child’s nutrition whilst in care.

Ms Karmel will visit Australia from 20 February to celebrate the launch of her menus, which will be used in Kids Club centres as part of an exclusive partnership arrangement.

Kids Club Early Childhood Learning Centres operates in New South Wales and the ACT and currently has 7 centres licensed according to the ACECQA register of which 2 have been rated as exceeding the NQS, 1 working towards the NQS and 4 as not yet assessed.

A representative from Kids Club said they consulted with Ms Karmel because “we know how crucial it is for babies and children to stay fuelled with the right foods, and we recognise the importance of introducing a diverse range of delicious flavours to encourage good, healthy eating habits for the future.”

Part of the menu design and consultation has focused on Ms Karmel working with individual centre chefs to ensure that mealtimes are memorable, and encourage children to develop healthy and positive relationships with food.

Ms Karmel said that “Eating habits and tastes are formed from an early age, so it’s incredibly important to introduce a good variety of foods at the earliest possible opportunity.”

“Kids Club Early Childhood Learning Centres share my vision to ensure every child gets the nutrients they need for their development and long-term health, and my freshly prepared, well-balanced menus certainly put the ‘mmm’ into mealtimes.”

Kids Club CEO Corie Stone said the partnership also came down to “a strong alignment of values” adding “From the opening of our very first centre we’ve strived to offer the best start to a child’s future”.

Kids Club’s National Operations Manager Helen Korch and Sally Stone, co-founder, worked closely with centre directors, Ms Stone said in sourcing the partnership: “Getting young children to eat, let alone eat nutritiously, is a challenge every parent knows too well. We want to make meal time more of a novel event for children”

The new menus will emphasise ““something fresh and healthy, something that our chefs and children, and their families can be excited about. To open their palates up to new flavours and types of foods that would encourage healthy eating habits.” Ms Stone said.