From Durban fine dining to NI school kitchens: How one chef is changing school meals across NI

EA's Food Development Manager, Scott Graham, who has used his skills as a professional chef to transform school meals across NI.

From fine dining in South Africa to feeding 160,000 pupils a day across Northern Ireland, one chef is quietly reshaping what school dinners look — and taste — like.

Scott Graham, Food Development Manager within EA Catering’s Service Improvement Team, is helping drive a significant shift in school food culture.

International flavours, street food inspiration and modern presentation are now part of the daily offering — a move that has coincided with a 22% overall increase in paid-for school meals uptake over the past three years (2022–25).

It’s a world away from outdated stereotypes of school dinners.

From Durban to Strandtown

Scott honed his craft in respected kitchens including the acclaimed “Makaranga Garden Lodge” in Durban, South Africa, and worked in Cape Town and Johannesburg with Protea Hotel Group before returning home to Northern Ireland.

But it wasn’t the pursuit of Michelin stars that shaped his next chapter — it was family life.

“With three young children I needed to find something that gave me the freedom of being off nights and weekends, so I could concentrate on being a dad which, to me, is the best job in the world,” Scott explained.

In 2010, he took up the post of Catering Manager at Strandtown Primary School. Over the years, he progressed through roles including Catering Manager, Area Supervisor and Area Manager, before stepping into his current position as Food Development Manager in 2022 — combining hospitality experience with large-scale menu innovation and service improvement.

Today, EA Catering serves up to 160,000 meals every day across more than 1,000 schools.

Reinventing the school menu

Since taking up the role, Scott has been closely involved in refreshing school menus to better reflect modern tastes while meeting strict nutritional standards.

A major milestone has been the introduction of the EA Harmonised Menu for nursery, primary and special schools, alongside accompanying recipe books. The aim is consistency — ensuring the same high-quality, compliant meals are available in every school.

“Kids usually have a ‘greatest hits’ list of their favourite foods, like pizza, curry and traditional roast,” Scott said. “Our job is to make the healthiest versions of those favourites.”

At post-primary level, innovation has taken a more global turn.

Under the “Flavours of the World” concept, menus now draw inspiration from global street food and high-street dining trends. Greek gyros, bao buns and contemporary grab-and-go options sit alongside traditional staples — designed to feel relevant to how young people eat today.

“Through Flavours of the World menus we’ve introduced foods with an international flavour, such as Greek gyros, and street food like bao buns, and we’ve given a ‘high street’ look and feel to the grab-and-go items for post-primary students,” Scott added.

Taster days and promotional events allow pupils to give direct feedback, helping shape future menus and encouraging them to try new flavours in a positive way.

Showcasing change at IFEX

This Wednesday, 25 February, Scott will bring that transformation to a wider audience at the IFEX food and hospitality trade event, delivering a “Saturday Kitchen” style cookery demonstration.

On the menu: Spanish chicken from the primary school offering, bao buns with pulled pork, and a beef donburi bowl from the post-primary ‘Flavours of the World’ range.

“It will be a great opportunity to show how school meals are changing, and how the food we produce is helping fuel the futures of our children and young people.”

A measurable shift

The impact is not just anecdotal. Since 2022, paid-for school meals uptake has increased by 22%, driven by menu changes, rebranding, and targeted marketing through themed days and promotions.

For Scott, the philosophy behind the rise is straightforward.

“It’s about showing that school food can be exciting, modern and nutritious. We’re using global flavours, fresh herbs, packing dishes with vegetables where we can, making better use of fruit and dairy in our desserts, whilst constantly looking for ways to raise the standard and keep meals familiar and approachable.”

In kitchens across Northern Ireland, that balance — between familiarity and flavour, nutrition and novelty — is redefining what the next generation expects from a school dinner.