The fourth year of the event sponsored by Premier Foods, maker of McDougalls baking products, will see extra prizes handed out to the five schools which make up the final.
The winning team will take home the jackpot of £1,000 worth of equipment for their school kitchen, while, for the first time, the four runners-up will win £250 worth of equipment.
Online entry for schools opened earlier this month with applicants required to submit a team of three 7-11 year-olds to take part. Registration closes on 31 March.
The competition’s theme will continue to be a focus on local produce and on encouraging schools to source its ingredients locally and for pupils to become better educated in learning about where their food comes from.
Mark Taylor, customer controller at Premier Foods, said: “It is really important to us that the McDougalls Young Baking Team of the Year competition helps develop children’s cooking skills, in addition to educating them on where ingredients come from.
“Last year it was revealed that 41% of children didn’t know that eggs come from chickens, so we’re proud to run an initiative that can help rectify this knowledge gap."
Judges for this year’s bake will be Carol Harwood, representing LACA; Andrew Green, representing the Craft Guild of Chefs; and Mark Rigby, executive chef at Premier Foods
Sarah Middlemiss, school chef at Chapter House Preparatory School, 2017 winner, added: “We were delighted to be crowned the champions of the 2017 competition. Our recipe was inspired by our school tradition of serving meringues with berries for our school birthday celebrations, and also by our delicious home grown strawberries from the school’s very own vegetable garden.
“The experience has been invaluable for the children and I would encourage everyone to take part. The children have not only learnt new cooking and teamwork skills, but they have had fun in the process. Good luck to all the 2018 entrants.”
Schools up for the baking challenge can register their interest at www.premierfoodservice.co.uk and will receive a McDougalls toolkit within seven days which will include product samples, an application form and recipe inspiration.
Teams will be asked to create either a sweet or savoury recipe, which includes one local ingredient and one McDougalls Flour Based Mix for submission.
Key Dates to remember
- Registration opens: 2nd January 2018
- Registration closes: 31st March 2018
- Recipes to be submitted: 4th May 2018
- Live final at LACA – The Main Event: 12th July 2018