Best UK chain restaurants for kids revealed
League table exposes which restaurant chains have the best and worst attitude towards healthy food for children.
The children's meals at the UK’s most popular restaurant chains have been scored in terms of how healthy are in a new list compiled by the Soil Association to highlight its ongoing Out to Lunch campaign.
Since the campaign launched in 2013, the environmental charity – with help from a legion of secret diners – has been evaluating the nutritional value of the kids’ food offered by leading high street eateries.
The Soil Association, which has been advising participating restaurants to deliver more nourishing offerings, reports some promising changes: 10 chains are now serving vegetables and salad with meals (up from five two years ago), while the number of chains sharing the providence of ingredients has almost doubled.
Jamie on top
Topping the table was Jamie’s Italian, a relatively small chain that was also first in 2013. It earned a score of 64 out of 80 (up from 50 in 2013).
Prezzo was the most improved, moving from 19th to 6th position – positive alterations included the availability of fresh fruit and organic ice lollies, while notable changes were also seen at other big chains Harvester and giraffe. Wagamama, which serves oriental cuisine, offered the most balanced dishes.
Improvements were not dependent on the size of the company either – Wetherspoon’s is the second largest chain on the table, yet came fourth for providing ingredients such as free-range eggs and sustainable cod. All in all, in this year alone an estimated 5.5 million meals that included healthier options were served to children.
However, the research also exposed the poor practices of many companies on the league table, these included: food pre-cooked abroad; not enough transparency about where ingredients were sourced from; not enough meals freshly prepared onsite; and chains continuing to offer unhealthy puddings and fizzy drinks over more wholesome choices.
Below is the full league table.
Still not good enough
Whereas eating out as a family was once deemed a treat, today it is becoming the norm. According to research2, 40% of parents take their kids out for a meal, yet 66% don’t think the food offered to children in restaurants is good enough.
Rob Percival from the Soil Association said: "Our 2015 league table includes big winners and big losers – we’ve found some upmarket eateries are designing menus that make healthy eating for children almost impossible, and price is no guarantee of quality with lower cost restaurants outperforming more expensive chains.
"Harvester and Prezzo have proved it’s possible to make major improvements – we’re now calling on other restaurants to raise the bar and give our kids the food they deserve."
Jamie Oliver was happy to hit the number one spot again, remarking: “I’m incredibly proud that our kids’ menu has reached the top spot on the Soil Association's league table for the second time running. We’ve always believed that the quality of our kids’ food should be just as good as it is on the main menu, and I really feel that we deliver just that – dishes that that the kids go mad for, but also that their parents can trust.”
The Out to Lunch campaign recommends that restaurants: remove ready meals; serve vegetables with every meal and offer fruit-based puddings; use quality free-range or organic ingredients; let children choose from the main menu; make water easily accessible and take sugary drinks off the menu; provide children-sized cutlery; and welcome breastfeeding mothers.
What do you think about the quality of children's meals on offer? Let us know in the Comments below.
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