Frequently Asked Questions

Clever Cuisine is a meal plan system that gives you pre-paid meals to either 3, 7 or 21 a week.

The University’s really passionate about food and drink and looking after our students. So it was very much about putting students at the heart of what we do as a university, including feeding people well so they perform well in the classroom and attain the absolute best results possible.

Clever Cuisine aligns closely with the university's ethos by leveraging our unique resources and expertise in food. We operate four university-owned farms, which provide us with beef and pork, making us quite distinctive in our ability to source food directly from our own farms. Additionally, our commitment to food is supported by our broad academic focus, including food science, nutritional sciences, agriculture, soil science, environmental science, and climate science. This deep expertise in various aspects of food and sustainability is reflected in our menus. Clever Cuisine embodies our position as a leading global institution in food, integrating our research and resources to offer high-quality, informed dining experiences.

Clever Cuisine is part of the University, All of our staff are University employees. You are buying your meal plan from the University. Clever Cuisine is just the name of the system - so there are no contractors or private companies. Everything is done with the student’s interests at heart.

Unlike many UK universities where meal plans are tied to a specific hall of residence with set dining times, Clever Cuisine at Reading offers more flexibility. While traditional meal plans might provide a fixed number of meals per week—such as 19 meals—and require you to adhere to specific mealtimes, our system is designed to be more accommodating. With Clever Cuisine, you can dine at a variety of different outlets across the campus and use our Meal Swipe System to choose when and where you want to eat. Each meal swipe equals one meal and can be used at any participating outlet, giving you greater freedom and convenience compared to traditional meal plans. This flexibility allows you to enjoy your meals on your schedule and at locations that best suit your needs.

We offer a broad selection of cuisines from various cultures. Our residential dining is typically one-swipe entry, allowing you to explore a wide range of food options in a single visit. You can enjoy dishes from Indian, Vietnamese, American, British, and other cuisines, providing a diverse and varied dining experience.

3. Apply with halls, buy online or buy in person.

They can do. Wantage is for wantage students only just for access reasons. But there is nobody on the door checking the register, you can swipe in at any of the participating dining halls.

So if you don’t live at St Patrick’s, but you have friends there you’re very welcome to visit. You have Park Eat, The Square, and The Dairy where meal equivalences will be used.

They run in term time or semester time

Yes, our menu is plant-forward. This means we focus on enhancing your nutrition by including more plant-based options, without removing other choices from your diet. Our goal is to offer nutritious, balanced meals that cater to a variety of dietary preferences.

Yes, we take dietary requirements and allergens very seriously. Managing a large food base with various dietary needs can be challenging, but it's a priority in our menu planning. We use technology, such as QR codes, to help customers easily access information about allergens and dietary options. If you have specific dietary needs, you can scan the QR code to see if we can accommodate them. Additionally, our staff is well-trained to assist with any questions or concerns you may have. If the technology doesn't address your needs, you can always speak to a member of our team for further assistance.

We encourage everybody to come and see us at Park Eat at the Concierge desk if they’ve got any worries or concerns about diet or if they want to raise any dietary requirements or allergens that they want to look at and we will help them navigate the system.

Planning our menus is a detailed process that starts with a visual approach. We believe in eating with our eyes first, so we begin by looking at the counters and considering how the dishes will appear visually. From there, we focus on the flavour profiles to ensure a balanced selection. For example, at the outlet we're in now, the first counter you see is a vibrant vegetable bar, full of colours and textures. From there, we move on to other counters, such as Pan-Asian, to provide a wide variety of options.

Our focus is on sourcing as much as possible locally and regionally, particularly from the south of England, which is a great region for food with a lot of variety. By sourcing locally, we’re able to create exciting and seasonal menus that highlight the very best of our part of the world.

Our menus are designed to be well-balanced, ensuring you can find the nutrition you need when dining at our venues. While we focus on offering healthy options, we also include sweet treats because we believe a little indulgence is good for everyone. So, while not all our food is strictly healthy, there's always a nutritious choice available.

All of our chefs are highly trained chefs.

They care about what they do and that is the most important thing. They care about the produce they use which coincides with following health and safety hygiene raters.

NetMenu is an online tool developed by the University to make our menus more accessible and customisable. With an investment of around a million pounds, this platform allows you to view the daily menus for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at each of our dining outlets. You can filter the menu based on your dietary preferences, such as vegan, halal, or vegetarian, and exclude specific allergens. NetMenu also lets you create a shopping basket and provides detailed information about the nutrition and ingredients of every dish, ensuring complete transparency about what’s in your food.

Purchasing a meal plan is straightforward. Here’s how you can go about it:

1. When Applying for Halls: If you’re applying for university halls, some accommodations include a meal plan automatically, so you won’t need to do anything extra. For self-catered rooms, you’ll be offered a choice of meal plans—3, 7, 14, or 21 meals a week. The University recommends that all first-year students opt for a meal plan due to the numerous benefits.
2. During Accommodation Application: For around 900 rooms with a mandatory unlimited meal plan, the meal plan is included as part of the accommodation. For the remaining rooms, you can select your meal plan as part of the accommodation application process.
3. After Arrival: If you arrive and haven’t chosen a meal plan, you can still purchase one online.
4. For Returning Students: If you’re in your second or third year or living outside of halls, you can also buy a meal plan online.

No, unfortunately not.

However, guest meals are available on several of their meal plans - so guests can come if you have guests on your meal plan.

Yes, you can adjust your meal plan. If you're unsure, struggling, or have any questions about your current plan, we encourage you to visit us in person or email us to arrange a meeting. We can discuss your concerns and explore options, including the possibility of upgrading your meal plan.