Three new skills centres for school cooks open in London

They will join existing School FEAST Network member Thames Valley University to help transform the way school cooks in the city develop the skills they need to ensure school meals are of the highest quality. The three new centres will add to the 26 centres nationwide training kitchen staff for thousands of schools throughout the country, helping to ensure that more children and young people eat a healthy lunch every day. The four London centres will offer a wide range of courses for schools in the region, covering everything from food preparation and cooking, food safety and kitchen m nagement, to support work in schools and nationally recognised qualifications at NVQ Level 2 or above. The training will also help school cooks meet new nutritional standards which have been mandatory in primary schools since September 2008 and come into effect in secondary schools from September 2009. Prue Leith, chair of the School Food Trust, said: "This extension of the School FEAST Network in London will now play a key role in nurturing the school cooks of the future – enhancing the skills of kitchen staff for hundreds of schools in the City to help ensure more children eat a healthy lunch every day." Claire Pritchard, School FEAST Project Manager for the Greenwich Co-operative Development Agency, said: "There is a real need in many parts of London for catering training and by providing nationally recognised qualifications alongside our bespoke healthy eating and sustainability training, we can provide a framework for the career development of all kitchen staff."