A WOMAN has revealed what it’s really like to be a school dinner lady.
Julie Pike, 36, from Norfolk has worked as a catering assistant for eight years and said she loves her job.
The mum, who shares a snippet into her day-to-day life with fun TikTok videos on her channel MummaPike.
One recent video saw her answer ‘the things I get asked as a school dinner lady.’
She joined in with the fun TikTok music video trend and answered burning questions for her followers.
One asked: “How do you know how much food to make?”
She revealed: “Meals are pre-ordered, portions counted/weighed.”
While another questioned: “Do you still serve the cake with icing and sprinkles?”
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To which Julie responded: “Yes!”
And lastly, Julie revealed she’s often asked: “Do you still use an ice cream scoop to serve mash potatoes? “
She wrote the words ‘Hell yeah!’ across the screen.
Julie said: “I’m in my eighth year of service. I love watching the children grow as they progress through school and giving them opportunities to try new foods they might not get at home.
“But there are some incorrect assumptions about being a dinner lady.
“One being that we only work one hour a day and we’re all old and grumpy!
“We have to set up and clean down which takes quite a bit of time. I don’t think I’m old and I’m definitely not grumpy!”
Julie revealed that Christmas Dinner day is her favourite when working in a school and said all the school staff ‘muck in’ with them to make the experience an extra special one for the children.
Being a dinner lady in a school comes with its perks too – one being that they get to see what children are really like at school.
And they’re often privy to their gossip and conversations.
Julie revealed: “The children come out with funny things every day but one of the funniest things I’ve heard was a child telling me they hadn’t been fed when I’d been off looking after one of my children who was sick.
“But some kids can be pretty gross too. The grossest thing I’ve ever witnessed was a child cramming so much food in their mouth they were physically sick!
“The kids seem to tell me everything! I get all the gossip from the playground and often get told about their home lives too. It’s really interesting.”
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But there are also some downsides to her job.
And Julie revealed it can be ‘soul destroying’ when she knows that the meal she serves to some children might be the only meal they get that day due to home difficulties.
On a typical day at work, Julie sets up the kitchen, puts out the tables and chairs in the hall, prepares the food for serving and dishes up the dinners.
Then after lunch, she washes up, cleans and puts away the tables and chairs and then cleans the kitchen.
She recently shared her experience on TikTok and her videos have been going viral.
She said: “I joined TikTok to monitor my eldest two children. I joked that I could get more followers than them and two years down the line, I’ve definitely done that!
“I’ve had mixed responses to my videos but on the whole, it’s been a positive experience.”
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