How to pack the perfect packed lunch: 20 expert tips from professional chefs

Make like a professional chef with 20 expert tips to keep your little ones full and satisfied in school, writes Ciara McDonnell

Ciara McDonnell asks Ireland's top chefs what their kids get in their lunchbox 

When I was eight years old, I experienced food envy for the very first time. Two rows down from me, I heard the crunch of another girl devouring Cracottes spread with butter so thick it could have been cheese. They seemed so exotic, so different, that I wanted them immediately. Other items on my envy list included cream crackers with Philadelphia (the height of sophistication), little rectangular wafers with a hazelnut paste in between, and mint or even better, orange-flavoured Club Milks.

It’s not that I had bad lunches, quite the opposite in fact — my mother sent us off to school with delicious picnics of brown bread sandwiches and a blackcurrant Amigo drink and something sweet to enjoy afterwards. Seeing what other children ate gave me a window into their homes, and it was like dining out — my world opened up.

As we roll towards the first week of September with equal amounts of dread and excitement, lots of parents will be getting to grips with school lunches and how to navigate them. Nobody knows more about producing food day-in, and day-out while keeping their customers satisfied than professional chefs, so I asked them how they feed their schoolgoing children.

Get your kit right

Chef Caitlin Ruth’s daughter’s favourite packed lunch was a Greek salad, which was going really well for her ... until it leaked. “It’s so important to get your hands on a clicky, sealable lunchbox, especially if your child will be eating anything that has any liquid.”

Test your lunchbox out by adding water to it and giving it a good shake — it’s the only way for parents and children to be confident that there will be no spillages come lunchtime.

Offer a number of options

Aoife O'Neill of The Creel. Picture: Jakub Suglia

With four children of primary-school age, Aoife O’Neill of The Creel in Galway is perfectly positioned to offer lunchbox advice. The key, she says, is in offering a number of different items to suit the day.

“I like to give them variety so it’s not always a sandwich. A wholemeal wrap with turkey and cheese or a flatbread with some hummus for dipping is a big favourite in our house. I also give them some raw carrots or celery to go with the hummus. 

"I usually slow-cook a gammon and use that throughout the week for filling for sandwiches and pitta bread. They all love having some crackers or rice cakes with some chopped-up cheese. If they are looking for something sweet, I give them dried mango or dried fruit and yoghurt.”

Do your homework

All schools have policies relating to allergies these days, and it’s helpful to get ahead by checking out what foods are restricted in your child’s school. Many schools have a no-nut policy now, so while it might sound like a good idea to whip up a batch of peanut butter granola bars, you may find yourself eating them with your morning coffee instead... which may not be the worst idea.

Give them what they actually eat

JP McMahon with his daughters. Picture: Anita Murphy

Chef JP McManus might be used to doling out fine-dining food, but when it comes to feeding his daughters, he goes for fillers that are tried and true.

“The most important thing is to fill the lunchbox with food that the children will eat, but also to try and offer variety day-to-day, combining fruits and vegetables, and yoghurts alongside the run-of-the-mill sambos. 

"I have a lunchbox food memory of Jacob’s Cream Crackers with butter and cheese, and my girls enjoy them too. Other favourites in our house are organic rice cakes with chocolate for a treat. One of my girls enjoys an almond and cucumber salad, thankfully not all nuts are restricted in the school.”

Keep it balanced

Jolene Cox and her daughter Lily Mae Cox aged 8

When you’re considering what to pack for your little person, overwhelm can set in. That’s where the founder of the One Yummy Mummy Family Cooking Club Jolene Cox follows a simple rule.

“I go for something crunchy, like fruit or vegetable sticks, a piece of dairy like cheese or yoghurt, a small amount of carbohydrate like crackers, a little wrap or bread and some protein to keep them full.

“Then I know I’ve given them a balanced lunch that addresses all of their needs.”

Don’t fight the fussy eaters

Pastry chef, chocolatier, and owner of Praline in Mitchelstown, Norma Kelly says that she tries to bypass fussy-eating stages by offering a number of things that she knows will go down well.

“I find that eating habits can vary weekly in our house, so trying to keep on top of the latest fad can be difficult — especially when it comes to school lunches as my daughter, Vivienne (aged four), is quite a plain eater. I try to put in three small things into the lunchbox.

“Vivienne prefers wraps to bread, so usually a mini wrap with butter and ham, or a couple of slices of brown soda bread with jam (nicknamed ‘Nana bread’ by Vivienne), some raw carrot sticks, or a wedge of melon, and then a little yoghurt or yoghurt drink. I find if I keep the components small in size, she actually eats more.”

Encourage children to engage in some DIY

“My kids have all been making their own lunches since they were about six,” says Deirdre Doyle, founder of The Cool Food School. She says encouraging children to make their own lunchboxes fosters independence and an interest in food, but most of all “if they make it, they’re more likely to eat it”. She has a few caveats for her own children though — it’s certainly not a free-for-all.

“The one thing I insist on is that they have some form of protein in their lunch boxes to keep them full during the day.”

Regular lunches on the rotation in her home include soup in a flask accompanied by cheese and fruit and tuna-and-cucumber sandwiches with oat cakes and fruit.

Use shapes to portion food

Asia Market's Eva Pau pictured outside their Drury Street store. Picture: Kirsty Lyons

Eva Pau of the Asian Market utilises the compartments in bento boxes to divide food for her five-year-old son George. She fills it with fruit, a sushi roll, or little brown-bread sandwich, some cucumber or carrot sticks, pretzels, and some mini rice cakes.

Try vegetables in new ways

Veggies don’t have to be chopped into little sticks to work in lunchboxes. Head chef at Ballymaloe Dervilla Flynn makes pea “guacamole” to pack with wraps and whizzes kale and all kinds of greens into a pesto which she stirs into cooled pasta and packs once cold. Roast chunks of sweet potato which have been tossed in paprika and olive oil are a wonderful filler. “They taste delicious hot or cold,” she says.

Be mindful of food waste

Chef Orla McAndrew checks in with her girls every morning as she makes their lunch to help avoid food waste 

Chef Orla McAndrew runs a catering company and uses the same principles at home as she does at work when it comes to minimising food waste. 

“Creating food waste is just not an option for me, so I’ll check with my girls every morning as we are making the lunchboxes and get the thumbs up that they are happy with what’s on offer and that they feel it’s enough and not too much. I let them take control of that, because they know how much they’d like to eat and how much time they have to eat for lunch each day.”

Embrace the healthy-eating policy

A school policy can help explain away a lack of treats in a child’s lunchbox very easily, says Aoife O’Neill. “Our school has a healthy-eating policy, which is a brilliant way to encourage healthy snacks. I’m lucky in that all my children love fruit and the likes of cheese and crackers, so typically they would all get a piece or two of fruit, like an apple, orange, kiwi, or if in season, strawberries or raspberries.”

A traybake can go a long way

Vasil Baci has been appointed the new head chef of The Metropole hotel in Cork

Head chef at the Metropole Vasil Baci whips up trays of homemade protein bars for his daughters to take to school. He uses oats, blueberries, pumpkin seeds, and coconut shavings, baking them on a flat tray for 20 minutes, leaving to cool before slicing up. The bars keep in the fridge for up to one week.

Prep to get ahead

You may feel zen now, but midweek mornings can get the better of all of us sometimes. Jolene Cox says that a little prep keeps her on track, no matter what kind of uniform emergencies or last-minute homework comes her way.

“If possible, I try and get organised the night before — even better, sometimes I get the kids to help. Mornings are so unpredictable, it’s one less thing to worry about in the morning panic, and might even give you time for a lifesaving coffee.

Don’t forget drinks

If you find that your child is leaving fruit in their lunchbox, then why not give them a smoothie to take to school? Vasil Baci makes drinks for his children every morning — the totally tropical combination of papaya, mango, and blueberry always goes down a treat, he says.

It doesn’t have to be a sandwich

There are plenty of vehicles for delicious fillings at our disposal, says Dervilla Flynn. “Dry-fry wraps quickly to soften and fill with sliced crispy rashers, cheddar cubes, cos lettuce, mayo, and roll them up. You can also use leftover pancakes — they are delicious cold and buttered.”

Make things homemade where possible

Gráinne Mullins of Grá Chocolates loves a homemade sausage roll 

Sometimes, it’s just not possible to make everything from scratch, and that’s when Gráinne Mullins of Grá Chocolates reaches for her arsenal of handy lunchbox helpers.

“Having a protein-packed homemade sausage roll will keep them satisfied. If you make them with some high-quality sausage meat and puff pastry, you can freeze them uncooked and cook them each morning.

“Yoghurt is always a lunchbox favourite. I tend to steer away from flavoured yoghurt, which can be full of sugar. Instead, topping some natural yoghurt with some fresh or stewed fruits is a fun alternative. You can give your children the choice of what fruit they would like, to give them more choice in their lunchbox.”

Consider the water intake

When choosing a water beaker for school, ask yourself if you can wipe it clean, if it is insulated and hardwearing, cautions Jolene Cox.

“It will get battered throughout the year, so you need to make sure it’s up for the test.” For those of us who worry about how much water our children are drinking, Cox has a great tip.

Keep an eye on where you fill it, each day. If you are worried about fluid intake, put a sticker on where it’s filled to so you can check how much fluid has been taken.”

Leftovers are not just for dinner

Every time you cook something, think about where you can repurpose it. If you make pancakes at the weekend, keep the leftovers for the lunches. Whizz leftover roast veggies into some stock for an easy and nutritious soup.

Settle in, then experiment

Once everyone is in a routine, feel free to experiment and loosen the reins a little when it comes to lunchboxes.

Jolene Cox makes “sandwich sushi” for her little ones, which are always a big hit.

“They sound fancy, but they are basically one slice of bread with the crust cut off filled with tuna or ham and cheese and rolled up, with the crusts cut off.”

Use your freezer

The freezer is your best friend when it comes to prepping school lunches 

Orla McAndrew says that while she’d like to be up baking scones and little breakfast bars every morning, she’s a busy lady, and it’s just not an option. That’s where her freezer comes in.

“I often traybake some goodies like flapjacks, oat bars, or fruit crumbles and freeze them into one-person portion.”

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