Meet the Team: Katerina Makri - WRAP’s new chef!
We’re proud of our home-cooked food, made fresh each day for our nursery children and business centre members alike! This is made possible thanks to our brilliant food and beverage team - who are behind the scenes each day cooking up some magic.
Katerina Makri, a veteran chef of childcare settings, has joined our team this month, jumping straight in at the deep end, having fed all of our children, catered multiple events, and made special lunches for our coworkers, all in her first week!
We caught up with Katerina to find out more about her, and her goals at WRAP.
Tell us about yourself!
I am originally from Athens, and I have been living and working in Brighton for over 9 years. I have been working in catering for over 20 years and know a lot about creating delicious meals that children love.
I previously worked with Marzena and Nikki (WRAP Nursery Management) in other childcare settings, which is how I came to know about WRAP.
“I am changing the menu day by day - completely new - making things that I know the children will eat!”
Tell us about your plans for the food at WRAP
I know the kinds of food children like to eat - simple and healthy food. The children had baked potatoes the other day, a first for the nursery! And they loved it. I will make fun meals like hot dogs and fish and chips, but I never fry any of my food - I’ve thrown the frying pan out of my kitchen! So everything is still healthy.
It is an exciting challenge for me to create food that is vegan. I am adapting dishes that would traditionally be meat based, and creating versions for the children that they love.
A lot of Mediterranean food is also great for vegans so I am introducing that to the nursery menu. We know how to make vegetables delicious! I am looking forward to creating a vegan moussaka!
Is there anything about WRAP that has surprised you?
I like that the nursery use reusable nappies! I haven’t seen that before. Not since I was a child myself!
What do you like about working at WRAP?
I like the difference! It is a different place, with lots of different types of catering. I make the food for the children and babies, for the birthday parties, but also for the people upstairs in the business centre. There is a great variety of people to cater for, so it is interesting.
Katerina has made a special effort to get to know the children already. She will bring the food into the nursery and sit with them children at meal times, taking time to explain what she has cooked and how it was made. She’s definitely a hit with the children!
Twice a week WRAP serves up delicious lunches for our coworkers in the business centre, making lunch breaks easy. We always try to provide seasonal, plant-based options that are exciting and value for money. In her first week Katerina made her special ‘Katerina Salad’, which went down a storm.
Katerina will be providing catering for our business centre meetings, as well as our children’s birthday parties. We’re excited to have such a creative and experienced chef joining our team. Welcome Katerina!
The WRAP nursery is open for children aged 6 months - 5 years. Our Playframe and event space is also available for birthday party hires.
