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How it Works

Why choose Zebedees?

Because we love what we do and your child’s nutrition matters to us. Which is why we make sure we deliver exceptional food, all the time. That means delicious, healthy meals made of high quality, fresh ingredients.

It also means: 

  • A preference for British ingredients and local suppliers.

  • Options to suit dietary requirements, intolerances and allergies which – crucially – resemble the mainstream option wherever possible, so no child ever feels ‘different’ or left out.

  • Menus put together by a qualified nutritionist, which rotate every three weeks and are all available to see online.

  • Reliable, trackable deliveries – we know where all our vans are all the time, so we can give you live updates.

  • Friendly, helpful, DBS-checked drivers.

 And that’s really it, in a nutshell.

We want children at nursery to be able to learn, grow and play, powered by the right food. Because with their tummies full of the right nutrients, they can achieve great things – and we’re here to help them do just that.

Try Our Food

How it started

Two professional chefs (Philip Oates and Steve Parsons) saw first-hand the problems local nursery schools were having with the provision of fresh, healthy food using limited resources and kitchen facilities.

So, over 25 years ago, they put their heads, know-how and spatulas together and came up with Zebedees.

How it’s going

Our 90-strong team supplies more than 10,000 hot nursery meals and 3,500 afternoon teas every day to over 300 settings across London, Brighton, East and West Sussex, Kent, Surrey and Essex.

And those numbers are growing all the time, which we’re delighted about. After all, children can get up to 90% of their daily food intake from nursery food – which is why it’s so important that parents know they’re being given healthy, balanced meals.

We may have grown, but our values remain exactly the same.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are you able to provide allergen free meals?

Yes, we can provide meals that do not contain any of the 14 main allergens, including egg-free, soya-free, dairy-free and gluten-free options. We can also provide substitute meals if a child is either intolerant or allergic to beans/pulses, tomatoes or citric acid

What cultural meals do you supply?

We offer vegetarian, vegan, pork free, beef free and Halal meals.

Where do you source your ingredients?

We use fresh, local ingredients and work with suppliers from Kent and Sussex wherever possible, to keep our food miles to a bare minimum.

How do you ensure the food stays hot?

Our food has a minimum core temperature of at least 90 degrees when it’s put into Thermoport containers to be delivered. This means it arrives above 63 degrees and the children will always be able to enjoy a hot meal. Chilled food is delivered below 8°c.

Can we freeze/reheat the food?

All our meals are made to be eaten at lunchtime on the day of delivery, not to be cooled down for reheating or freezing for consumption at a later time or date.

Is the packaging recyclable?

All of our hot lunch equipment is reusable: we ask every nursery to clear out and rinse all the containers and put them back inside the boxes, ready for collection the next day.

Can we use you to cover staff absences?

Alongside permanent contracts, we can cover staff holidays or sickness with a temporary service.

How do we place an order?

Our Client Services team will email you a unique log-in to our online ordering system, ZOO (Zebedees Online Ordering). Orders must be submitted by 12 noon on a Thursday for the following week’s delivery.

How do we pay for our order?

We ask for all payment by Direct Debit, within 7 days of the date on the invoice.

What we’re up to

 Receive our quarterly newsletter from Zebedees HQ in your inbox.

 This will include a look behind-the-scenes, as well as useful nutrition tips, menus, interviews, mentions in the press and much more.

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