Wendy Lohse from Shalfleet CofE Primary School (Chartwells) made Lightly fried Quorn ‘fishless’ cakes served with cucumber relish and a spicy mayonnaise for her grab & go item. For her main course she created a minced Quorn satay with lemongrass and turmeric rice, coconut green beans and fresh sambal. For dessert Wendy served chewy ginger cookies with mango custard ice cream and fresh fruit and lime gels.
Andrew Walker, culinary director of Chartwells UK attended the competition and said: “SCOTY is without doubt the premier food competition for all school caterers. Nothing else has such heritage, heart and future thinking.”
At the national final, the 2022 national winner will receive a £1,000 cash prize, the 2022 LACA School Chef of the Year trophy and an invitation to a calendar of catering industry events.
Chair of judges, Quorn’s Kate Snow added: “It’s a very exciting competition this year. As well as the main course and dessert, we have introduced a grab and go offer. It is exciting to see the innovation and creativity amongst the chefs and the Quorn dishes they produce.”
The runner-up was Arkadiusz Aoun Kosiacki from Bilingual Primary School (Impact Food Group). For his grab & go item he prepared a rolled pastry with smokey ham, feta, tomato and spinach. His main course was a crispy Quorn sausage with basil mash potato, roasted tomato sauce, sauté vegetables and parmesan chip. For dessert he created a chocolate & banana mousse with fresh strawberries and tuile biscuit.
The national final will be held at the LACA Main Event on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole with the overall winner announced on the evening of Thursday 7th July.