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Dietary Requirements and Healthy Eating

Menus

All our Garden Restaurant menus contain at least 1 or 2 healthy options every day. This may be a main course choice, a vegetarian/vegan and also a substantial salad bar.

 

All our soups are suitable for vegans and vegetarians and are produced using fresh potatoes, vegetables and pulses.

All our curries including meat, poultry and vegetarian are free from ghee (clarified butter) or any other butter/added saturated fats. Most are generally flour free and we only use low fat yogurt.

During all cooking processes all our stock based sauces are skimmed of fat, particularly minced beef dishes and where possible we only purchase lean meat/poultry.

We aim for less than 10% of our main course dishes to be fried as a cooking process and more than 50% of our main course dishes to be grilled, baked, poached or braised.

We avoid use of hydrogenated cooking oils which have been associated with bad publicity regarding health threats.

  • In addition to the Garden Restaurant menus we also offer a healthy salad bar with a good selection of low fat options including lean meat, half fat cottage cheese, plain salads and vegetarian choices.
  • A choice of skimmed and semi skimmed milk
  • Selection of fruit juices
  • Fresh fruit bowl and fresh fruit salad
  • Healthy eating bars
  • Low fat yogurts
  • Sugar free and low salt cereals
  • Wholemeal rolls and bread

Most food preparation takes place in our main kitchen where there is exposure to all of the prescribed allergens.

The College Kitchen requires notification of any food-based allergies you may suffer as without such information, we may not be able to provide food that you can consume. 

We will do all we can to produce allergy-safe food where we are given sufficient advance notice of the requirement. 

You should also be aware, that our kitchen does not contain “isolation areas” and, while we will use all reasonable endeavours to provide food that does not contain any of the allergens that have been identified and notified to us in respect of specific individuals, we cannot give any undertaking of a level of clinical food preparation conditions that would provide an absolute guarantee of total safety from any allergen contamination.

For Formal Halls the on-line booking system allows for you to book special diets and give details where necessary.

Please visit the Catering Department to discuss any particular needs you may have

Lacto-Ovo vegetarians are catered for on a daily basis; the salad bar has greatly enabled students to make up a dish containing only the contents that they require.

Halal dishes are served in the Garden Restaurant from Monday to Thursday . Vegan dishes are offered daily throughout term.

If you have a query about how a dish is prepared or you wish to know about the ingredients or if you have any question regarding our food offering, please feel free to contact the Catering Department via this website on the feedback page.

Special requirements do not usually present a problem - it is just a case of us finding out which foods are permitted. This is especially important where restrictions are based on medical grounds, i.e. an allergy to certain foods. Difficulties may arise with the provision of Kosher food due to the costs involved; again please discuss your requirements with us and we will do all we can to help.

Many food items sold in the Red Brick Cafe are bought in and are packaged with labeling stating their ingredients/allergens. We try to ensure there are options for Gluten intolerant customers and are looking at Lactose intolerant options, if you have any suggestions we would be happy to investigate their availability, Please remember that items stock are sold on a first come first basis, unless you are prepared to pay in advance for an item to ensure it is available later in the day.