The LACA School Chef of the Year competition, which is sponsored by Bisto from Premier Foods, asks chefs to prepare, cook and present four portions of a main course and dessert with a total food cost of £1.60 per head in 90 minutes that meet the School Food Standards and Eat Well Guide.
The three wildcards are:
- Matthew Bennett, Aramark - Alsager School (North West regional final)
- James Noakes, Maidstone Grammar (South East regional final)
- Lee Taylor, Academy- part of Atalian Servest (West Midlands regional final)
The national final will be held at the LACA Main Event on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th July at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. The 2023 winner will receive a £1,000 cash prize, the 2023 LACA School Chef of the Year trophy and an invitation to a calendar of catering industry events.
During the national final Mathew will cook tandoori chicken thigh served on spiced lentils with crispy carrot peel bhajis for his main course and for dessert he will create fresh pineapple topped with creamy mango cheesecake and a crunchy coconut crumb.
For his main course James will cook flame grilled chicken skewers with sticky soy sauce, rainbow salad and steamed coconut rice. For his SCOTY dessert James will make fresh fruit sushi. It is a play on traditional sushi with sweetened coconut rice and fresh fruit served with a bubble smoothie shot.
Lee will cook panhagerty with braised vegetables, butternut squash puree and gravy. He described it as an ‘old school main course served with classic vegetables and a reduced gravy’. For dessert Lee will make toffee apple upside-down sponge with spiced crème anglaise tea.
School meal providers can register for free entry to the School Food Show to watch the competitors in action.