About

Canteen Suppliers Adelaide

Get to know our friendly and professional team

Metro Canteens SA is committed to and passionate about delivering healthy and delicious meals made fresh daily. With a solid staff base of 65 people who are deployed to manage approximately 40 school canteens, both in the Government and Private sector, we are the longest-running and most successful school canteen provider in South Australia.

Each school canteen team comprises of a Canteen Manager and supporting canteen staff. Depending on student numbers, this could be a Metro crew of at least 3 – 4 team members to support student numbers. Together we will carefully select the Canteen Manager and support staff to ensure a good fit with each school’s culture of entrepreneurship, cultural diversity, and inclusiveness.

Your Canteen Manager is not only the face of Metro but is also our ‘frontline’ personnel, which is critical in their role for the safety and satisfaction of all students.

Their responsibilities include:

  • Ensuring each student has a meal at lunch, regardless of circumstance

  • 7 minutes or less canteen service wait time

  • Max of 12-hour response time to all canteen enquiries

  • 1 hour response time to any student/parent concerns

  • Updating our customer service policy each calendar year, taking information from feedback from students and families through surveys and face-to-face feedback.

Our motto is:

We do not believe in a simple ‘heat & serve’ menu, nor in food being prepared off-site, pre-packed and transported frozen. You get to see our Quality Assurance systems at work. All students deserve freshly prepared food on-site daily.

Every Canteen Manager is fully trained and certificated in safe food handling and hygiene practices as per government guidelines and Metro’s internal policies and procedures. Our National Food Nutrition and Menu Coordinator will ensure compliance with ‘Right Bite Policy’

Equally as important is for the students, staff and parents to meet and get to know the people responsible for the preparation of their food fresh each day, and for our staff become a part of the school community. Your appointed Canteen Manager, along with Metro Canteens SA Director, Mark Walters, sit on school committees and governing council meetings where required to ensure regular up to date feedback is being addressed and actioned. READ MORE

We also ensure that our menus support a diverse and cultural community. We can work collaboratively to design your menu to complement the range of ethnicity at your school. All will comply with our Healthy Eating Policy and DECD’s ‘Right Bite Policy’.
As we make our food fresh daily, we ensure that lean, low-fat, and low-sugar recipes are used. We also pack our menu items with fresh, healthy veggies and fruit. We make our own daily:

  • Pizza
  • Hamburger patties
  • Pasta
  • Pastries
  • Curries
  • Muffins
  • Soups
  • Sushi
  • Cold Rolls
  • Wraps
  • Sandwiches
  • Quesadillas
  • Soft Tacos
  • Salads

In addition, we also supply fresh, daily specials. At Metro Canteens, our success is due to our commitment to providing increased financial return and customer satisfaction through a range of reasonably priced, nourishing, exciting and quality foods.
Metro Canteens are a recommended canteen service provider from ASCA (Australian School Canteen Association) after receiving their ‘5 Star Canteen Accreditation Certificate’

Staff knowledge and skills

Metro employs a total of 65 trained canteen staff, bringing a wealth of talent and skills across South Australia. Before our team are deployed into our schools, they have to attain the required certificates and rigorous training, including:

  • Food Safety and Hygiene Level 1 online course
  • RRHAN – Responding to Risks of Harm, Abuse and Neglect
  • Infection Protection and Control online course

  • Kitchen Operations in-house training at Metro training kitchen

  • DCSI Working with children clearance certification

Management team

You’re in good hands with our team of experienced professionals

Mark Walters

Director

Mark has 25 years of experience in senior executive management roles, managing HR, Work Health & Safety and Systems across various sectors, including FMCG, Industrial and Mining. Mark has Certificate IV in leadership and management and certification in Advanced Food Handling.

Mark will liaise with your school to ensure a successful business relationship. Mark’s work ethic is based on his hands-on approach to client satisfaction through transparency and timely communication.

Mark is responsible for:

  • The overall safe operation, food quality standard and profitable operation of contracted school canteens
  • Training and mentoring all Metro Canteens SA staff
  • OH&S Management Systems, Policies and Procedures Implementation
  • The financial viability and success of the Canteen service operation
  • Reporting and regular communication with the senior management team
  • Overseeing staffing and rosters
  • Audits to ensure our policies and procedures are being met each term
  • Overseeing and ensuring overall cleanliness and hygiene standards are met and maintained.

Belinda Walters

Director/State Accounts & Administration Manager

Belinda has 10 years of experience in overseeing accounts and administration and has a vast range of experience in previous senior catering and food preparation roles. Belinda has a certificate in Accounting and Advanced Food Handling.

Her responsibilities include:

  • Producing and providing accurate P&L MYOB reports for school canteen operations each term
  • Reconciliation of all supplier invoices and invoices for any catering provided
  • Ensuring all Metro staff are correctly uniformed, and all staff certifications are current
  • Financial viability and success of the canteen service operations
  • Reporting and regular communication with the school finance management team
  • Staffing and rosters
  • Arranging all maintenance and service requirements
  • Ensuring overall cleanliness and hygiene standards are maintained.

Ben Westdorp

National Food Nutrition & Menu Coordinator

As a qualified Chef, Ben brings over 10 years of experience in food safety preparation and training and holds a Food Safety Supervisors certificate, which is reviewed and updated annually. Ben will work with the school leadership team to support menu development and ensure kitchen operation training is conducted and maintained.

To ensure the variety and quality of the meals, Ben will:

  • Advise on the nutritional specifications and develop the agreed menu that meets the Government legislation and dietary requirements
  • Ensure the highest standards of food handling and hygiene are maintained and executed through regular site visits each school term
  • Train our staff in food safety, hygiene and operations annually at our kitchen training facility in Salisbury East
  • Perform KPI checks and performance reviews every term with Mark Walters.

Metro Canteens Group established 1991

The Metro Canteens Group began its ambition to provide valuable canteen operations in 1991 with a contract to operate one canteen. Since then, it has expanded to include over 180 schools nationally and approximately 40 in South Australia. Our policy of controlled, steady growth means we continue to grow while Metro Canteens continues to guarantee schools a financial return from their canteen operation.