Williams visited the school to co-host and deliver a focus group to 40 children aged between 11 and 14 years.
He said: “I thoroughly enjoyed working with Steven and his team to develop a series of seafood recipes.
“Our overall objective is to encourage healthy eating amongst children, taking familiar recipes and incorporating different produce so that they at least try new things.
“For some of the children, lunch is their hot meal of the day so it’s important to deliver high quality, nutritionally dense food. With 40p per head to spend on protein, designing menus is not without its challenges. I really admire the food concept that Steven has implemented in the school and how it has encouraged children to eat well and I’m excited to be part of its growth.’
The students trialled three fish dishes including Alaska pollock tacos, blackened keta salmon with chunky potato oven chips and salmon and pollock sausages with smokey baked beans.
Cross added: “At Park Community School we serve one fish dish a week, usually on a Friday. It has always proved to be a popular choice, but I think that’s because children tend to like what they know.
“What we want to do is incorporate more naked fish into the diets of our pupils - avoiding batter, breading and coating - since it’s a lean protein with high levels of omega 3 fatty acids.
“Our priority is providing healthy, balanced meals, but there are challenges with food choices and preferences as well as financial restrictions. Working with Alyn has given us an opportunity to get creative with the Seafood offering with different ideas and ingredient pairings and the reaction from the kids was better than we had hoped for.”