Catering

The catering team provide fresh and exciting menus throughout Durham University, including College meal packages, College formal dinners and branded University cafes. All menus are created to meet the diverse needs of our University community including students, staff and visitors alike.

We have several retail catering outlets across the campus and the city to cater for members of the University community, a few of which are also open to the public. 

Student Catered Package

Fully-catered Colleges provide three meals a day, seven days a week during undergraduate term time to all resident students. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are self-service and are hosted in College dining halls.

Local College catering teams prepare College meals using food predominantly from unprocessed ingredients and free from controversial additives.

Menus have variety, balance and reflect the Food Standard Agency's 'Eat Well Guide', therefore enabling students, staff and visitors to choose a healthy, varied and balanced diet. The student catered package caters, where practicable, for all individual dietary requirements.

Menus are designed to offer choice and promote foods that are beneficial for physical and mental wellbeing e.g. oily fish, whole grains, beans, lentils, fruits and vegetables. A minimum of 5 fresh fruit and vegetables are available per day, including fresh vegetable-based soups, undressed salad bars, side portions and fresh fruit. Fresh fish is promoted alongside vegetarian and vegan options and there is always an alternative to red meat.

Providing vegetarian and vegan meal options is also part of our commitment to sustainability. As well as this, all whole eggs are locally sourced and free-range and the University has been Marine Stewardship Council accredited for over 11 years continuously. Durham university designs menus and food choices based upon our sustainable food policy (Sustainable Food Policy - Durham University).

The University is particularly proud of our carbon-rated menu initiative Environmental impacts of food highlighted in new campaign - Durham University. This means that all meals provided in our campus accommodation are clearly labelled with a Carbon calculation so students and staff can see the environmental impact, from production to plate, of the choices which they are making. This is part of Durham’s Greenspace Movement, working alongside Durham County Council on a citywide campaign for Food for the Planet with data supplied by specialists, MyEmissions.

The University recognises the importance of healthy eating for wellbeing and its responsibility to play a leading role in providing healthy food to enable students and the wider college community to make healthy food choices. It also recognises that good nutrition is an important part of leading a healthy lifestyle, benefits physical and mental wellbeing, a good diet reduces the risk of some diseases and improves the ability to fight off and recover from illness.

Cafés

On-campus there are a variety of cafes, from the larger branded coffee chains of Starbucks and Nero alongside a specialist local provider: Rounton’s who are based in Northalerton. Their passion for quality and sustainability is at the forefront of their business. Cafes across campus provide food and drinks on the go using local suppliers where possible to offer variety and choice for our diverse visitor community including vegan, vegetarian, gluten free and halal choices. We are always striving to improve our sustainability initiatives - these include being part of Durham County Council single use plastics pledge and, more recently, the introduction of a hot drinks levy for any customer not bringing their own cup.