A DAY nursery opened its doors to a leading food expert and renowned children’s cookery author to help improve their kid’s menu.

Eco Montessori at Norman Court, a day nursery in West Tytherley, welcomed famous children’s cookery author Annabel Karmel MBE to celebrate its partnership with The Nursery Catering Company.

The new partnership aims to deliver freshly prepared, nutritionally balanced meals to the children at both the Eco Montessori nurseries in Salisbury and Winchester.

The food delivery service is working with children’s food guru, Annabel, to deliver a delicious, diverse menu to fuel children with the best nourishment for busy days of play, learning and development.

The established author, who’s behind books such as Weaning Made Simple, Annabel Karmel’s New Complete Baby & Toddler Meal Planner and Top 100 Baby Purees, spent the afternoon with staff, children and parents, taste testing a variety of dishes designed for the children's new expert menus.

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Annabel, 65, said: “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.  Eco Montessori Day Nursery shares my vision to ensure every day is filled with flavour and goodness, and I look forward to receiving ongoing feedback from the nursery’s littlest of food critics.

“Together with The Nursery Catering Company, I understand the growing complexity and risk in having to navigate allergies in a nursery setting. By partnering with us, Eco Montessori can feel safe in the knowledge that every child’s needs are catered for. Every day we cater for children who have a whole host of special dietary requirements, making our lunch, tea and dessert options as similar as possible to the standard menus.

Annabel’s recipes incorporate classic meals, hidden veggies and world flavours- all of which were tasted and given the thumbs up from even the fussiest of eaters at the Norman Court base.

Nursery owner, Susan Hartley-Raven, said:  "We enjoyed welcoming Annabel Karmel to our nursery. We had a lovely tasting event that was delicious with lots of new recipes and choices. 

“Through the partnership we can serve healthy balanced food that is yummy and child friendly. Mealtimes are a buzz in the nursery with the children, laying foundations for life, enjoying the tasty healthy food as well as learning table manners and etiquette at this sociable nursery occasion. A big thank you to Annabel for coming to share her new recipes with us, we cannot wait to serve them to our children."

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Chris Zych, national sales manager at The Nursery Catering Company, added: “Making a decision to outsource nursery catering is a big one. But it doesn’t have to feel like a mighty move away from that ‘homecooked’ offering. Quite the opposite, in fact. Together with Annabel, we have developed an affordable food offering that ticks the tasty box.”

The Nursery Catering Company, founded in 2011, delivers fresh lunches, teas and desserts to early years settings across the country, with the expertise of the UK bestselling author. For more go to nurserycateringcompany.com/.

Eco Montessori has day nurseries at Surrenden Cottage in Norman Court, West Tytherley, Salisbury and at St John’s Hall, Winchester. For more go to ecomontessori.co.uk/.

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