Kosher meals to be served to students for the first time at University of Nottingham

Jewish students at the university at the University of Nottingham will be able to get kosher meals in halls of residence for the first time.

These meals will be cooked in a newly licensed kosher kitchen by university chefs, less than a mile away from campus.

The kitchen was built after a £50,000 fundraising campaign, receiving its kosher licence in December and a five-star hygiene rating reports The JC.

University chefs will be using the kosher kitchen to batch cook recipes designed by Rabbi Mendy Lent’s wife, Brocha.

Rabbi Lent told The JC that they have been wanting to do this for “years”.

He said “The university has been amazing at making this happen for us and their chefs are really delighted to be doing this.

“Everyone loves my wife’s cooking, and I am so happy that students are going to be able to get that home comfort food that they have enjoyed with us for so long.”

Rabbi Lent spoke of how they were “willing to absorb” the increased costs of producing kosher meals to “ensure Jewish students get a kosher meal.”

Brocha has designed a menu including favourites such as sweet and sour meatballs, roast chicken, spaghetti bolognese, roast peppers as well as pastries. She spoke of her intentions for the meals saying: “One of the first things I wanted to check was portion sizes. Meals will include a main, a carb, vegetables and desert.

“The university has been great, and we are excited to bring these meals to students starting in September.”

The couple thanked the university, which they said had “bent over backwards to make this happen”

Nottingham Chabad welcomed the news that the university would provide the option of a hot kosher meals to Jewish students, after years of planning.

Alongside the university catering team, Chabad also plans to offer fresh sandwiches and other provisions on campus as well as a kosher food truck within the coming months.

Former Nottingham Jewish Society president Harry Levy told The JC how these meals would “revolutionise the way we experience Jewish life on campus.”

Harry, a management student, said: “This new kosher provision means Jewish students are going to get access to the same offering as everyone else.”

He continued by saying: “It means you can come and live a Jewish life on campus and there is no need to go to a big city like Manchester.”

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