New Hero dishes are arriving on AiP menus this term. Before they reached the plate, they started somewhere else: with pupils and parents.
The latest Sodexo School Dinner Index brought together 7,259 survey responses from primary, secondary, and sixth-form schools, combined with data drawn from our serving of 237,835 meals across 107 schools. Together, the findings give a clear picture of how pupils’ tastes change as they grow and what that means for the school menus at AiP.
What we learned was that our menus are shaped by what pupils want to eat, balanced with giving them what they need to grow and thrive at school.
Read more about the numbers behind the menus at AiP.
What’s staying the same
The primary school pupils have spoken; the message is clear. Cheese and tomato pizza was a standout favourite, with 438 votes, followed by roast chicken and potatoes at 223, fish fingers and chips at 205, and mac & cheese at 150 votes. These results matter because familiarity plays a key role in getting pupils to enjoy school food in the first place. AiP’s approach isn’t to replace dishes pupils already love, but to keep developing them.
Pizza is a great example. Rather than taking a familiar favourite off the menu, AiP’s new homemade version uses a 50% wholemeal base and a veggie-packed “hidden super sauce”. The dish looks and feels like pizza, while the recipe itself does more nutritionally.
What’s new
As pupils get older, our research shows that their tastes broaden. Secondary pupils are interested in a much wider range of international flavours and formats, including katsu curry, fajitas, tacos, jollof rice, biryani, noodles, and African-inspired dishes.
This fresh insight is what shaped our new Hero dishes. The adobo chicken roti wrap brings Filipino-inspired street-food flavours into a familiar handheld format. The gochujang lentil and bean bolognese gives a loved pasta dish a plant-forward, Korean-inspired twist. These are examples of a principle we promote at AiP: new food doesn’t have to feel completely unfamiliar. Familiar formats are the starting point for discovering new flavours.
The best menus listen
This is the balance at the heart of our new Hero dishes. As AiP Managing Director Rebecca Bridgement notes: “new doesn’t have to mean unfamiliar”. The opportunity is to keep the favourites that pupils already trust and use those dishes as a stepping stone to introduce new flavours, trends, and formats, building the favourites of tomorrow.
Our menus evolve because pupils and parents have a voice in shaping them. Some dishes stay, and some arrive based on the balance of listening first and cooking second. AiP creates menus that pupils want to choose and that help them thrive.
Explore AiP’s Food Smart, Kitcheneers, and Sixth form sample menus, or get in touch to talk about your school’s catering needs.
