FAQs

Signposting is currently verbally via the duty chef or supervisor attached to the outlet. They will be happy to advise. 

This best practice process is in place to meet the Food Information Regulations (FIR) for open food dishes. This information is available on request and our teams are trained to advise on an alternative dish should the recipe card not meet your dietary needs. We are unable to offer halal ingredients across all of our product portfolios due to supply chain limitations and items that are bought in ready prepared. Where possible we aim to have enough of a breadth of range, choice and consumer personalisation across the outlets that meets our community's needs.  

Suppliers and product traceability can change daily due to the complexity of commodity switching and how manufacturers and producers' source on the open market. Due to the uncertainty out of our control we are unable to advertise and signpost these areas on the digital and printed point of sale as this marketing material is designed and displayed in advance and is not on a live system. Any advertising and marketing material must adhere to trading standards regulations and should not mislead in anyway.  

The most informed and accurate source of information regarding ingredients on the grounds of religion and/or allergens is advised by the skilled operators within the outlets at the time of purchase as these colleagues have access to the most up to date information on that day. Unfortunately, other ways could increase the risk of misinformation that is above a level of acceptable risk that can be mitigated. 

We have a diverse multicultural community who have differing beliefs and ethics. Unfortunately we are not able to promote Halal options exclusively as we do not have seperate kitchen spaces, but we do often source 'Halal-sourced' meat for specific menu items. Please see our policy here. 

Most of our hot food outlets have 'cook to order' menus which ensure that we are not over-producing food items. In our cafes where we have packaged food items we have stock control processes in place that ensure we in control of our ordering and production. On days where a pre-packaged item will go out of date, we will often offer a discounted price.

In the Market Place Forum we have signed up to 'Too Good To Go' where you are able to order a magic bag of items that are at their best before date. 

Generally, our food waste is managed well and we do not have too much excess. 

Commercial, Residential and Campus services have a range of measures in place to capture and reduce food waste. We recently had an excellent outcome in our Environmental Management Systems (ISO14001) after a vigorous external audit of our policies and actions. This includes having a regularly updated sustainable food policy with measurable actions.

Our culinary team are using fermentation, pickling and dehydrating techniques to reduce food waste within our kitchens. Food waste across both campuses is collected and goes to an anaerobic digestion plant. In addition, our waste oil is collected and turned into biodiesel. The University has also recently introduced food recycling in all self-catered accommodation and we are currently reviewing all other eating areas to ensure this is also captured. 

We have standard operating procedures in place with all teams including our third-party partners to ensure they are fully aware of when we have events on campus that are likely to cause an increase in footfall.

We also provide all of our businesses with the relevant links on our website, so they can access this information themselves. During vacation periods, we often have residential conferences on campus using our facilities. These are generally catered, with the odd reservations made in the city. However, a recent conference opted not to choose pre-booked hospitality for their delegates. When we discovered that this had the potential of impacting our walk-in businesses, exclusive use of The Ram Bar facility was made available to help relieve these pressures. Post event reviews are conducted for managed events will be included to support our commitment to continual business improvement.