What is your view on School Cooks/ Dinnerladies? What images spring to mind when you think of them?

Way back when I went to grade school, those ladies were the nicest people I ever saw at school. Always asked if we liked the food and gave you extras when they had it. Boy, what a hard job thy have. Can't say as they are now but they were the sweetest ladies when I went to school. Course there were still dinosaurs around then also.

Way back when I was at school, they were known as "the Witches" - probably in reference to the meal ingredients:

"Fillet of a fenny snake, Eye of newt, and toe of frog, Wool of bat, and tongue of dog, Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting, Lizard's leg, and owlet's wing, Scale of dragon; tooth of wolf, Witches' mummy; maw and gulf of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digg'd i the dark; Liver of blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat, and slips of yew. Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse; Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips; Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-deliver'd by a drab."

Simmer gently for 11 hours on the full moon and deliver to schoolchildren on a daily basis at lunchtime.

When I was teaching I made sure every student of mine said "thank you for cooking for us today". It's a really hard job and I believe there were just 5-6 to prepare for over 500 children (and they had horrible pay too.)

BUT ONE YEAR all the school cooks in the town/small city  got together and made a cookbook!!!! I still have that cookbook and use it all the time!  YUUUUMMMMY ! 

Look how well used it is! (Photo below)  I used it for years and it has their famous homemade cinnamon roll recipe that would melt in your mouth. Also, the BEST butter sugar cookies that won a national prize which I made for Christmas and Easter to decorate with colored icings with my children.