Contest to find top Devon school chef kicks off today

This year's contestants are Lisa Barlow from Marwood Primary in Barnstaple, Liz Horgan from Cornwood Primary, Beccy Robinson from St Giles-on-the-Heath Primary and Karen Tucker from Lampard Community School in Barnstaple. The cook-off will be held at the Life Skills Centre in the old St Luke's High School building in Ringswell Avenue, Exeter, today when the four chefs will each cook a two-course meal using ingredients costing just £1.25. They will be judged on presentation, nutritional balance, taste and appeal to children and innovative use of local ingredients. Lesley Yeomans, operations manager for Devon Catering and Cleaning Services, said: "We look forward to this event in our calendar every year. "It is a day when our catering staff take centre stage and the current discussion about nutrition in school catering brings an extra dimension to the competition." The winner will take part in a national culinary competition to find the School Chef of the Year 2010 to promote the high standards of skill, professionalism and creative talent in the education catering sector.