Catering Services shortlisted for national award

Denbighshire County Council’s Catering Services has been nationally recognised for its delivery of frontline services.

The Catering Services team has been shortlisted in the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Performance Networks 2025 Awards.

Across Denbighshire, the Catering Service runs 54 school kitchens daily to produce 13,500 freshly prepared meals for pupils. That’s 67,500 meals served during the school week to help children learn, grow, and thrive.

APSE is one of the UK’s top benchmarking agencies who work with over 200 councils across the UK. The catering service submits service data annually which is then measured against other entries from across the UK which includes paid and free meal uptakes, staff training, development and attendance, service performance, financial standing and service value for money and general service delivery and Management of the service.

They are committed to promoting excellence in the delivery of frontline services to local communities around the UK. They have shortlisted the Council’s Catering Services in the APSE Performance Networks Awards for Best Performer and Most Improved Education Catering service.

Cllr Barry Mellor, Lead member for Environment and Transport, said: “We are really pleased that our fantastic Catering Service has been recognised for their work to provide healthy, balanced meals that give our children the best start to their school day.

“Catering staff continue to go the extra mile every day to provide thousands of meals made with care, local produce, and nutritional balance every single day and they should all be proud of what they achieve.”