A SCHOOL caterer has been recognised for excellence in promoting sustainable, plant-based meals.
Dolce Schools Catering, based in Warrington, secured a top-three spot in the ProVeg UK Contract Caterer Ranking 2025/26, which celebrates caterers making health and sustainability a core focus in schools.
Neil Price, head of food services at Dolce, said: "We work hard on our menu offerings at Dolce, with an increased interest in plant-based meals in our schools.
"Our ProVeg-ranked menus now have the plant-based options at the very top of the menu, which really helps parents and pupils choose these dishes first."
Caterers are assessed on the promotion of plant-based foods, the quantity and quality of plant-based dishes, and the transparency and communication of sustainable, plant-based options across their menus and websites.
Dolce already holds two School Plates Silver Awards from ProVeg UK for its primary and secondary menus, which reflect its ongoing commitment to expanding sustainable and appealing plant-based choices in schools.
More than half its current menu - 55 per cent - is plant-based, with vegetarian and vegan dishes clearly labelled and prioritised on daily menus.
The company also features two plant-focused days each week - Tasty Tuesday and Try it Thursday - to encourage pupils to try new flavours.
Mr Price said: "Across all of our menus, we have good plant-based options available every day.
"We focus on hearty, homemade dishes that will appeal to pupils and stand up well against their traditional counterparts including Ultimate Tomato Sauce Pasta, Creole Style Jambalaya and Planet-friendly Spaghetti Bolognese.
"After listening to feedback, we’ve also made small tweaks to existing dishes to open them up to more pupils, including plant-based pizzas every week, a hearty Tomato Pasta Bake and Butternut Squash Wellington.
"We also offer plant-based yoghurts, sorbets and ice creams where required, and all beef dishes on our primary menus include added plant protein, reducing overall beef content while maintaining taste and quality."
Alex Jemison, awards and engagement manager at ProVeg UK, said: "The rankings are incredibly important to acknowledge all of the hard work being done by school contract caterers to bring about food system change, to fuel children with food that prioritises their health and sustainability.
"We’re so happy to see Caterlink, ISS and Dolce in the top spots and to be able to celebrate their successes."
