Michelle's 40 years in school catering

Catering manager Michelle Hendrick has hit a career milestone with Sodexo that few can claim to reach, having just celebrated her 40th year at the Exeter School contract. Naturally over four decades she’s seen her fair share of changes in the world of catering.

Michelle has worked at Exeter School since leaving catering college in 1982 having achieved her City and Guilds 7061 and 7062 qualifications, and a first class diploma in culinary expertise. She had other career ideas in her head at school, namely nursing or becoming a vet. But Michelle always loved cooking and, after doing well at college, she applied for two jobs and got shortlisted for both. One was at Exeter School and another was in a hotel. Michelle says she made the right choice as she's still with Sodexo more than 40 years later!

Her training was in classic French cooking techniques, so school food seemed a bit bland in comparison. But from the minute she stepped through the door this fuelled Michelle to want to change the perception of schools meals and prove it wasn’t all lumpy custard and frozen lasagne.

Tasty fresh food - cooked from scratch - has always been Sodexo’s ethos and Michelle is a great believer in education when it comes to food for young people. Michelle knows pupils still love to eat their traditional favourites but tastes have evolved and we’re seeing more demand for vegetarian options, plant-based dishes and street food. It’s all about balance and choice.

Michelle said:

I do feel like we really make an impact with the food we produce every day. The client, pupils and parents can see we care about welfare and nutrition. The business has always supported me in my drive and that has been a constant in my career.

There are many things which have changed through Michelle's 40 years, of course. When she started as an assistant manager/chef at Exeter School in 1982, the kitchen didn’t even have a dish washer or a fryer. Michelle and her colleagues hand-washed in the sinks and heated oil on the hobs. Technology has made things so much easier, and safer, for Michelle and the team.
 
Michelle started with Sodexo (then Gardner Merchant) at the age of 18 and at just 24 years old, she was in the manager’s role which she still holds today.

"With Sodexo being such a diverse company there have been plenty of opportunities for promotions and moves but I’ve been very happy to stay here," said Michelle. "I love the hands-on day to day of the job. I’ve always felt supported by my managers, the school is a wonderful place to work and I love Exeter. It’s mind blowing to think how many children I’ve seen coming through the doors in four decades. I remember many of the faces, and they remember me, which is so nice."

Many of Michelle's team are long servers, too. "It’s the people around you that make the job really enjoyable isn’t it?," she added. One Michelle's colleagues recently retired at the age of 72 – she was first person Michelle interviewed when she took over as manager. Several other team members have left and returned since. The current team is 14-strong and serves lunch to 800 pupils aged 3 to 18 every day, plus catering for a host of hospitality events.

"It's busy, and it’s often challenging," said Michelle. "With changing bursars and school heads you have to re-establish yourself and do things different ways. But I’m proud of what I’ve achieved and that my contribution hasn’t gone unnoticed by Sodexo."

Last year, Michelle was honoured at Sodexo's Long Service Awards 2022 at ACC Liverpool. She is pictured above with Sean Haley, CEO Sodexo UK & Ireland, at the awards above.

Michelle has gained a lot of experience and enjoyed sharing that with her team and helping them develop along the way.

She said: "Being in one place for a long time doesn’t mean you have to stand still and I’ve been conscious to keep innovating. I like change, and I want to always to provide the best for my team and customers. 

"Now I’m approaching 60, I’m considering my retirement as the 5.30am starts are making me quite tired now! I love to travel, having lived in Malta and Germany, and every year I visit family in Australia for the seven week summer break. So it would be nice to do more of that.

But no regrets at all – I’ve thrown myself into work and I’ve had a great career with Sodexo."