Ten regional semi-finalists prepared their bakes under the watchful eyes of the judging panel, including TV Bake Off winner Jo Wheatley, LACA representative Sylvie Babout and UFS executive chef Alex Hall.
At the end of the session the judges sampled each of the creations. The panel looked for taste, creativity, visual appeal and appropriateness for school menus. Each recipe had to be the baker’s own recipe and contain at least 50% fruit aligning with the School Food Standards in England for fruit-based desserts served at least twice a week.
Alex Hall said: "All the competitors were brilliant on the day, but only eight could go through to the final. We’d like to thank everyone that’s taken part so far and helped make the competition a success once again.”
The eight finalists and the regions they represent are:
- East Midlands: Helen Conboy, The Deepings School
- East of England: Debbie Donnor, Nene Primary School
- North East: Simon Rawle, North Tyneside Council Catering Services
- North West: Sarah Levenson, Lordsgate Township CofE Primary School
- Scotland: Sheila Clyne, Burnfoot Community School
- South East: Mark Kent, Folkestone Academy
- West Midlands: Nigel Simmonds, Connect Catering
- Yorkshire & Humberside: Christine Parr, Warmsworth Primary School
The final takes place on Tuesday 27 September 2016.