Derbyshire school chef to compete for national title

Lorna competed at the LACA East Mids regional final at Choice Group’s kitchen in Cannock to battle it out for a place at the LACA School Chef of the Year (SCOTY) final.

Judged by Chair of Judges Louise Wagstaffe of Premier Foods, Sharon Armstrong of LACA UK and Stuart Brereton of MKN UK, the winners for each region were announced as Lorna Nolan from Breadsall Primary CofE VC School for East Midlands, Joanne Cox from Ysgol Y Graig, Chartwells and Andrew Polymniuo from King Edwards VI Aston, Chartwells.

East Midlands : Lorna Nolan from Breadsall CofE VC Primary School, Derbyshire County Council, was named SCOTY East Midlands Regional Finalist, by serving a delicious organic beef-filled Yorkshire pudding with a beetroot crisp-topped vegetable stack and roasted cheesy cauliflower. For dessert Lorna created a bejeweled berry beetroot brownie served with an Angel Delight quenelle and berries.

West Midlands: The first to be crowned was Andrew Polymniuo from King Edwards VI Aston School. Andrew delivered a winning menu which included a Korean Fried Jerk Chicken and Tropical Moussecake to become the SCOTY West Midlands Regional Finalist. The Korean Fried Jerk Chicken was a tasty crispy chicken thigh in jerk sauce served with a sweet potato puree, whilst the Tropical Moussecake was a pineapple and toasted coconut mousse with a cheesecake base and mango puree.

Wales: Joanne Cox from Ysgol Y Graig wowed the judges to become the SCOTY Welsh Regional Finalist with a main course of Moroccan Infused Ravioli and a Knickerbocker Glory dessert. The Moroccan Infused Ravioli was a winning combination of ravioli made with Moroccan apricot and chickpeas and a delicious spiced lentil sauce. It was presented with a mixed herb couscous and coconut peshwari.

The school chefs had just 90 minutes in which to create four portions of their two-course menu. All three new regional finalists will join the South West region finalist Jennifer Brown of Sarum Academy, at the National final which will be held at the LACA Main Event on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th July, Birmingham. LACA Chair Brad Pearce comments.“Three fantastic heats, with three fantastic new finalists, all showcasing the very best in school food. Not only great food but also a celebration of the excellent culinary skills and talent of the chefs feeding our children in schools across the nation.”

Sponsor Sarah Robb, foodservice marketing manager at Premier Foods said: “It’s been another exciting day of judging for our chef, Louise Wagstaffe who has been so impressed with the variety of dishes she has tasted. With three more finalists now revealed, it’s already shaping up to be an impressive display of culinary excellence as we look ahead to the final in July. Good luck to all the chefs who are still to cook in the next few weeks.”

The prestigious school chef competition, School Chef of the Year (SCOTY), is run by LACA, the School Food People and sponsored by Bisto, from Premier Foods. The competition attracts some of the very best school chef talent from across the country.

LACA – the school food people, was established in 1990 and is the leading professional body representing over 1,000 members drawn from across the school food sector representing public sector and private contract caterers and suppliers to schools, academies, and MATs across the UK.

The LACA School Chef of the Year (SCOTY) is now in its 29th year and has drawn national attention with the annual winners often appearing on TV to showcase school cooking.

Find out more here: https://laca.co.uk/news/tom-armstrong-claims-lacas-2022-school-chef-year-scoty-title