How BaxterStorey and Glasgow Caledonian University are embracing sustainable catering

A university canteen might not seem like the place for a food revolution. But at Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU), something has been simmering behind the scenes — and it’s not just the scratch-cooked soups.

When General Manager Alan Ratcliffe and his team at BaxterStorey began working toward the Food for Life Served Here Certification, it wasn’t just about ticking boxes. It was about reshaping the culture of food on campus: how it’s sourced, cooked, and reflects the university’s values.

“In a higher education environment, the easy route is volume and speed,” Alan explains. “But we saw an opportunity to do something different, to champion craft and creativity, and put local community at the heart of what we do”.

Food for Life Served Here is a certification from the Soil Association Scotland that recognises fresh, locally sourced, and responsibly prepared food in public institutions. GCU gained Food for Life Served Here Bronze Certification in 2024, highlighting their commitment to good food.

As a university known for its commitment to the Common Good, the food served to its students and staff needed to live up to that principle. With the support of BaxterStorey, they set their sights on the Food for Life Served Here Silver Certification — an award that demanded more scratch cooking, more organic ingredients, and deeper attention to sourcing.

Head Chef Euan Kilpatrick uses Blackthorn Salt in a dish, the supplier is based in Ayr.

Smarter sourcing, bigger impact
Achieving Silver meant a shift in how meals were sourced and prepared. Ingredients had to be traceable and responsible: free-range eggs, higher-welfare meat, sustainably sourced fish, and local produce like Mossgiel Organic Dairy milk from Ayrshire. For the catering team, it wasn’t just about adding more vegetables or organic products to the menu—it was about rethinking the entire approach to food preparation and sourcing.

This shift from convenience to conscience required increased spend on organic produce and 75% of meals to be freshly prepare from scratch. No easy challenge in a university setting where you are serving upwards of 220,000 meals a year.

To drive GCU’s vision, Alan and his team focused on sourcing smarter. They began using Mungowells Organic Flour in fresh-baked focaccia, blending it with other flours to stretch their budget. Mossgiel Organic Dairy milk became a staple in dishes like mac and cheese. Simple changes, applied creatively, started to add up.

There were challenges, of course,” Alan says. “But we found innovative ways to make it work, such as spreading cost across the year, without compromising on quality”.
By celebrating Scottish produce and removing ultra-processed ingredients, suddenly, a university kitchen was starting to look like a model for what sustainable institutional catering could be.

“The response from students and staff has made it all worth it,” says Alan. “People care about what they’re eating, it’s our responsibility to serve food that’s good for them and good for the planet.”

Investing in the future

A key part of the transformation was the development of the team. Six chefs completed training through BaxterStorey’s Chef Academy, building skills and knowledge in cooking seasonally and sustainably to meet the higher standards required by the Food for Life framework. This investment in people was essential to the cultural shift that saw a growing enthusiasm from students and staff alike for meals that are fresh, nutritious, and ethically prepared.

Among them was Sous Chef John Wright, who had previously cooked in one of Glasgow’s most creative fine dining restaurants, Six by Nico. Now, he brought that same care and attention to a new kind of service.

“We’re talking about meals that are cooked from scratch using the best produce we can find,” explains John. “And it’s not just about what’s on the plate — it’s about where it comes from and how it got there.”

John’s transition from tasting menus to campus menus wasn’t just a career pivot, but a paradigm shift. “At Six by Nico, the creativity was non-stop,” he says. “But that mindset doesn’t disappear when you go into contract catering. You channel it differently. There’s still creativity, it’s just grounded in purpose. You’re feeding hundreds of people a day, and you want every dish to matter.”

Head Chef Euan Kilpatrick echoes this, saying, “Achieving this certification has meant raising the bar in every part of our kitchen — from prep to plating. It’s been a brilliant opportunity for our chefs to develop new skills and rediscover traditional techniques. Cooking 86% of our food from fresh every day means that we had to upskill our kitchen team, and they have all responded amazingly well to the challenge.

“There’s a real sense of pride in knowing we’re cooking food that meets such a high ethical and nutritional standard,” he continues. “The Food for Life framework gives us a great foundation to keep evolving.”

“It’s easy to underestimate what students will enjoy,” John points out. “But we found they really respond to quality. They notice when something’s been cooked from scratch, when it tastes real. You’re not just feeding people. You’re giving them something meaningful — something that reflects the values of the place they’re studying and working.”

Mossgiel Organic Dairy, based in East Ayrshire, is used across the menu. 

A focus on local and Scottish
That passion for quality and care runs through the kitchen, especially in Euan’s approach to ingredients. For him, the award reflects something deeper: pride in Scotland’s larder.

“Scottish produce is some of the best in the world,” he says. “Using local ingredients doesn’t just support our farmers and reduce food miles - it makes the food taste better. Simple as that. Whether it’s dairy from Ayrshire or fresh berries from Perthshire, we want our menus to celebrate what Scotland grows.”

That local-first mindset doesn’t just strengthen community ties — it helps reduce GCU’s environmental impact. By buying seasonally and locally, the team cuts down on transportation emissions, avoids unnecessary packaging, and supports regenerative agriculture practices. It also fosters deeper relationships with suppliers, many of whom share the university’s values of fairness and sustainability.

“It’s about supporting our local economy as much as it’s about sustainability,” says Euan. “And when students taste something that feels like home, it resonates.”

The effort paid off. In early 2025, the university was awarded the Food for Life Served Here Silver Certification: a recognition that represented far more than a certificate on the wall.

“Achieving Silver is a huge milestone, showcasing our commitment to transparency, quality, and sustainability”, Alan says. “It required rethinking how we use organic ingredients and finding smarter ways to work”.

Sous Chef John Wright freshly prepares meatballs to be served, using QMS meat.

Leading by example
The team isn’t stopping at Silver. Plans are already underway to work toward Food for Life Served Here Gold Certification — reducing food waste, increasing plant-based and organic produce on the menu, and embedding biodiversity further.

Alan sees GCU’s story not as an exception, but as an example. “We know other universities are thinking about how they can make food more sustainable,” he says. “And the Food for Life framework gives you the tools to do it in a real, measurable way.”

The message to peers in higher education is simple: this isn’t just about menus. It’s about mindset. It’s about creating a food culture that matches the ambitions of your institution.

For GCU, the Food for Life Served Here Silver Certification is more than just recognition — it’s a symbol of what’s possible when values and vision align. It’s proof that institutional food doesn’t have to be impersonal, that sustainability and scale can coexist.

GCU declared a climate emergency and committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. The date for carbon neutrality has since been brought forward to 2040 in the University's Strategy 2030.

This new commitment emphasises the university's long-standing commitment to incorporate the principles of sustainable development into every aspect of its operations, including catering. The Food for Life Served Here Certification proved to be the vehicle to meet those sustainable catering targets.

As Alan says, “Our focus now is working closely with the Soil Association, building on our success to achieve Gold accreditation. We want to inspire others and encourage our community to engage more with the food they enjoy every day”.

By sharing its success, GCU and BaxterStorey hope to inspire others across the sector. Because when university food is fresh, responsible, and values-driven, it becomes something more than a meal, it becomes a model for change.

For higher institutions looking to learn how they can emulate GCU’s success, please contact the Food for Life Scotland team here.