The title of Lead Association for Catering in Education (LACA) School Chef of the Year, sponsored by Maggi©, is the most prestigious that any School Chef across the UK can hold; and an exciting year is guaranteed for whoever emerges as the 2017 winner.
There are six finalists competing for the North-West title, and Stockport based school meals provider, Solutions SK confirms Kim Edgar, their Cook in Charge at St Philips Primary School, is one of them.
There are several stages to the competition which culminate at the North West finals which take place on Tuesday 16 January.
During the finals, the Solutions SK cook will compete by producing four portions of main course and dessert, suitable for Year Six pupils. She will be given 90 minutes to prepare, cook and present the food ready for judging. Justin Clarke, Food Development Chef for Maggi at Nestlé Professional, will be the Chair of the judging panel for the Regional Finals. He will be joined by a local professional Chef, Jacqui Webb at LACA, and two Year Six students from a Stamford Park Primary school in Altrincham.
Judges will mark each finalist on the following criteria:
• Creative use of Maggi and Nestlé products
• Working practices
• Creativity
• Flavours/taste and texture/appearance/aroma
• Ability to replicate recipe
Head of School Meals and Facilities at Solutions SK, Sharon Alldread, say of the forthcoming event:
“We are so excited for Kim. This is a great achievement for Solutions SK and re-enforces the fact that the service we provide to schools, is one of the best in the North West.”
Being part of the Solutions SK School Meals team since 2004, Kim is incredibly excited and ‘over the moon’ about the finals. As she now prepares for the final, she talks about how she felt when she first entered the competition.
“The Solutions SK team approached me and asked if I’d be interested in entering the competition. It was such an exciting opportunity and I felt ready for the challenge. It’s so exciting to have got this far and I can’t wait for the finals.”
