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With the competition focus on producing nutritious, delicious meals for 11 year-old primary or secondary school pupils, the LACA School Chef of the Year competition is the ‘perfect showcase’ for passionate school chefs to demonstrate what they do best every day.

LACA has announced that people taking part in the 2025 edition of School Chef of the Year (SCOTY) will be given an extra funds to create their two course meal due to rising costs.

Competitors must prepare, cook and present four portions of a main course and dessert with a total food cost of £1.70 per head in 90 minutes that meet the School Food Standards and Eat Well Guide.

Chair of LACA Judith Gregory commented: “This showcase event which starts with our school chefs competing in their own regional cook offs, with the regional winners joining the final competition live at the Main Event in July 2025. It is an amazing experience for all those that take part, enabling our amazing staff to showcase their incredible talent and creativity.

“Participants are able to meet and network with school chefs from across the country at both the regional and national stage, and it’s the perfect opportunity to demonstrate their passion and professionalism. I can’t wait to follow the action from the regional heats through to the Main Event Final. Best of luck to you all.”

The SCOTY competition is open to all kitchen-based staff involved in the daily preparation of pupils meals in schools across the UK whether from a local authority or contract-catered site, managed in-house, academy school or part of a Multi-Academy Trust.

Sadia Allam, foodservice channel controller at Premier Foods, added: “LACA School Chef of the Year has been one of the highlights of the school catering calendar for many years and so we are excited that Bisto is sponsoring the event again this year. We’ll be supporting and celebrating the chefs who get involved throughout the process and can’t wait to be part of the judging panel to help find the next star of school meals.

“The Premier Foods foodservice team work with chefs across the UK and we’ll be encouraging as many as possible to get involved and submit an entry. It’s a great way to test and develop your skills whilst potentially putting your school on the map.”

The main course must include one Bisto product from the list provided. Competitors are permitted to use more than one Premier Foods product in their main course if it suits the dish. The dessert should be based on 50% fruit content and include one item from the list of Premier Foods dessert products provided.

Regional final winners will each receive a £100 cash prize. At the national final, the 2025 national winner will receive a £1,000 cash prize plus a work experience trip, the 2025 LACA School Chef of the Year trophy and an invitation to a calendar of catering industry events. The national second and third place winners will receive £500 and £300 respectively.

The judging criteria for 2025 includes:

• Use of Premier Foods products (10 marks)
• Working practices in the Kitchen (20 marks)
• Creativity and appearance (10 marks)
• Taste and Flavour (10 marks)

Register for the competition online at www.laca.co.uk/scoty. This must be received by the organisers no later than Friday 13th December 2024.