I have the clean dishes ready on my kitchen counter (plates, cups, cutlery ) night before, or early morning so I don't have to look for items when kids are here. My kitchen is adjacent to the daycare rooms so I do go in kitchen to plate the food. I don't know what I'd do if my dc was in basement ... all heck breaks loose when I'm gone for 2 min. I prepare a lot of food monthly and freeze (minced chicken, roast beef) and I'll cook 10 min brown rice with it and micro veggies at lunch. But when I first started out I had it all pre-cooked and chilled ready to serve til I got climatized to being a provider.
There's a ton of helpful threads about meal prep if u search the forum. A few of my dcks refuse any part of lunch. I let the parents know so they don't fill up on cookies at home. Always make sure they have their water cup throughout the day so no dehydration which affects behavior. All my five kids get their own colour cup.