Oasis

Reading this many of you will be scratching their heads wondering why the name Oasis has not been featured before, West End, Mayfair or Covent Garden? None of these and yet Oasis serves more customers per day than The Ivy, Gordon Ramsay and Nobu added together.

Where is it and why have I not heard mention of it before today?

In truth few people have heard of it and yet it serves more than eight hundred meals each day, bringing pleasure, comfort and enjoyment to many people, young and slightly older each day, and it represents and entire industry that brings many a smile, as well as a tale to tell, for many millions of people across the length and breadth of the land.

School dinners have been with us for may more years than I care to remember, and as someone who combines the bright lights, as well as some very dim examples of some of the finest restaurants across Europe in the evening I also spend my days as a teacher, and greatly value the excellent standards achieved by the unsung stars of the food industry, the dinner ladies. In my case the Bulmershe bevy of beauties, Ann, Sandie, Denise, Marlene, Sue, Linda, Di and Chris are magnificent examples of the very best of the industry, dispensing dishes on a daily basis with charm, professionalism, encouragement and, when needed, equal quantities of humour and compassion.

Morning break times and lunch times see millions of students across the educational establishments of the land served a wide range of food and drinks to satisfy the demands of education, and there are many teachers like myself who are unable to resist the charms of the dining hall at morning break, a sandwich and a brief exchange of pleasantries. Lunchtime often sees staff joining the queue to build a mountain of salad and still be able to close the lid of the containers before reaching the paydesk! Students can be seen enjoying the delights of pasta, chicken, chips, burgers, salads, fruit and a selection of vegetables on a daily basis, washed down with milk, water or a selection of fruit drinks.

School kitchens as well as being the source of a highly amusing and popular television series starring Victoria Wood, are the source of the fuel required for staff and students alike to continue of the educational journey of discovery, like an army a school marches forward in the pursuit of knowledge on its stomach, fuelled by the ingenuity and imagination of teams such as the ladies named above, offering a range of food, advice, humour and encouragement at periods of the day when hunger is at its greatest, and teamwork, timing and skills in delivery are put to the test.

Just like any successful restaurant, the strength of the organisation lies within the staff, they provide the skill, unity, professionalism as well as the ability to react in the appropriate manner to the moods and demands of the students passing through in a frantic lunch period. This last week saw their imagination displayed fully when, on the day of our fateful soccer match against Portugal, the meals had a national theme supporting the nation's support of the soccer team. A Beckham turkey burger with English fries followed by a cake decorated with the flag of Saint George was enjoyed by staff and students alike, culinary imagination supporting our student passion for soccer.

Rumour has it the Oasis team are secretly working on a Rooney dish for our next international soccer tournament, a solid meaty dish with extra layers of pastry but one that achieves its goal!

Oasis represents the dinner ladies across the land, the forgotten heroines of the catering industry feeding millions each day, spreading smiles with each dish, at times a thankless task but, in reality, a rewarding and much appreciated role in each and every educational establishment across the country. Current students, their parents, grandparents even as well as the hundreds of thousands of teachers owe a debt of gratitude to the teams operating in the kitchens throughout the land where millions of meals are served on a daily basis.

Whilst we can all recount stories of soggy custard, strange spinach, solid peas and strange starters we should all recognise the work done by Ann, Sandie, Denise, Marlene, Sue, Linda, Di and Chris, magnificent examples of the profession, people I am very happy to publicly applaud.

I would hope that readers would do likewise, whilst you may not know this particular team of lovelies, you will know or remember others like them. Like your memories these ladies make me smile on a daily basis, as well as feeding staff and students throughout the academic terms.

Food and humour are great companions, just like the Oasis team!

Previous reviews...
Yang Sing
Le Raj
Britannia Spice
Ivy - London
Forest Mere
Benihana
The Rainforest Caf
Caf
San Marco
Sarastro
Pizza Express
Livebait Restaurant
Simpson's-in-the Strand Restaurant
Rez
Kathmandu 34
ZINC
The Moghul
Zaffran
Barajee
Whittlebury Hall
De Vere
Hook Tandoori
Yellow River - Reading
The Teak House Thai Restaurant
The Bina
Mela
River Walk
Alcazar, Paris
Mali Thai - Reading
The New Inn - Heckfield
Forbury's
The Birch, Woburn
Fishworks in Chiswick
A Fish Called Walter
Cookham Tandoori - Indian Cuisine
Bistro Roque in Kintbury, Berkshire
Bistro Roque, Kintbury in the evening
Eurostar to Avignon
Tea at the Ritz
Cilantro in Reading
Sultan Balti Palace
Don Beni, Italian Restaurant
The Compleat Angler, Marlow (MacDonald Hotels)
Dominos Pizza
Sizzling Wok
Manray
Alcazar
The Angel
The Italian Job
Hunters - Ireland
Marlfield House - Ireland
Dunbrody Country House - Ireland
Ahernes Seafood Bar - Ireland
Longueville House - Ireland
Old Midleton Distillery - Ireland
Waldo
The White Lion at Crays Pond
Northcote Manor
Waitrose
The Square Bar & Grill
Waldo
Strada
Spice Route
Branston Hall Hotel
Vinopolis and Cantina Vinopolis
Peak Brasserie
Flackley Ash Hotel
Carluccio's in Reading
Careys Manor, New Forest
City Inn, Westminster
Gibbon Bridge Hotel, Forest of Bowland
Kloosters Hotel, Leuven, Belgium
The Tigers Pad
Armathwaite Hall Hotel
City InnWestminster
Carluccio
Chewton Glen Hotel, Spa and Country Club
The Lygon Arms
One Aldwych, London
Brunello Restaurant, Kensington
Agra Palace, Nuneaton
Juboraj
Bluebells Restaurant & Bar
The George and Dragon at Swallowfield
TTAVAS RESTAURANT
The Last Days of the Raj
Vespers - Apollo Hotel, Basingstoke
TTavas Restaurant
Simpson
Sunday Lunch at City Inn Westminster
Spice Bollywood Restaurant
The Tamarind Tree
Pizza Express
De Vere Slaley Hall,
Oakley Court Hotel
The Red House
Oakley Court Hotel
The White Hart Hotel Restaurant, Dorchester-on-Thames
Old Thai House, Newbury
Wyndham Grand Harbour Chelsea Hotel
Tiger Garden, Eton
Cinnamon Tree, Reading
Ragdale Hall, Melton Mowbray
Ha Ha Bar & Grill
Fishworks in Christchurch
Nando\'s Reading
Westover Hall Hotel