Chartwells Independent relaunches as Lodestone House

Chartwells Independent has officially relaunched as Lodestone House, continuing its rich heritage in the independent schools catering space. This includes a new identity and core focus around garden to kitchen to classroom – championing British produce from the ‘farm to fork’ journey and embedding food education into everyday school life.

Shaped by pupil feedback alongside consultations with headteachers, bursars and consultants, Lodestone House reflects the changing needs of the education sector and puts three core pillars at its heart:

• Garden – proudly using fresh seasonal ingredients
• Kitchen – creativity, flare and an inclusive space where everyone has a voice
• Classroom – feeding the curiosity and learning of pupils.

Each of these pillars is rooted in a series of principles and commitments that have been carefully cultivated by a team of dedicated operators, nutritionists, chefs, and medical diet experts, taking best practice from across its estate. A focus on doing the right thing is interwoven into the fabric of each pillar, with measurable targets around social procurement, ensuring an inclusive workforce, and educating and supporting the communities in which it operates, to name a few.

Nutrition and education sit at the heart of its food philosophy, with emphasis on wholefoods, wholegrains and scratch cooking across the menus, ensuring that the food pupils eat helps them achieve their true potential. British seasonal ingredients are also featured throughout the year.

Lodestone House has three core recipe books that help shape its offer: Signature, classic dishes with a Lodestone House twist; Authentic, celebrating cultural diversity and authentic flavours from across the globe; and Planet Positive, a selection of low carbon dishes evaluated by sustainability platform Foodsteps.

Its new education programme, Classroom, brings to life the nutrition and science behind each dish, helping pupils to learn about food, nutrition, and how to make choices that benefit themselves and the environment. The programme is embedded into school life with educational videos for assemblies and PSHE classes, nutrition workshops, and chef-led activities. All activities are tailored to each school’s needs – and then reinforced through signage on food counters and in dining spaces.

For schools with a strong sports focus, Lodestone House offers an additional Sports Nutrition Programme, designed by registered sports nutritionists. Delivered through seminars and practical sessions, the bespoke programme responds to growing demand from pupils and helps them understand how food fuels performance, recovery, and long-term wellbeing.

Noelle Jones, Managing Director at Lodestone House, said: “The independent school sector has changed significantly in recent years, bringing both new challenges and opportunities. Lodestone House is our response – not just a name change, but a fundamental evolution of everything we do shaped by the voices of clients, pupils, parents and team members. This is about unearthing best practice from across our business, and looking forward to reimagine every aspect of our offer to better support our schools, rooted that commitment in our heritage and underpinned by clear purpose: to nourish, educate, and empower young people.

“Through our three pillars – Garden, Kitchen, Classroom – we’re instilling a love for fresh, homemade food from farm to fork, embedding food education into daily school life, and championing social value to support both people and planet. We’ve carefully cultivated our menus and education programme to help pupils thrive – consistently fuelling their minds, supporting their wellbeing, and building vital life skills they will carry into the future.

“This isn’t rocket science, it’s about doing the simple things excellently, every day, and creating an outwardly looking brand that reflects and represents the amazing quality our teams deliver.”

The new name draws inspiration from the earliest compasses, which were naturally magnetised when struck with lodestone to guide direction – also a nod to parent company Compass Group. “House” connects back to Charlton House, now CH&CO, the independent school caterer acquired by Compass Group in April 2024.

Jones added: “The new visual identity reimagines the fleur-de-lis as the ‘fleur-de-whisk’, with a blend of wheat, a whisk and a feather quill representing our Garden, Kitchen, Classroom pillars – all within a shield in the shape of an acorn, a symbol of independence in heraldry. This reflects the coming together of Chartwells Independent with our CH&CO business to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Meanwhile, the colour palette is inspired by the dining room at Winston Churchill’s Chartwell House, from which Chartwells took its name.”