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The Public Sector Kitchen session was hosted by Dr Rupy Aujla to showcase the culinary talent of those working across the sector to feed the nation in schools, hospitals, care homes, prisons and universities.

Rob cooked nori spiced tortilla cracker with Quorn pieces and Mexican salsa for his main demonstration and for dessert he created coconut and lemongrass pannacotta, pineapple compote, charred pineapple with a coconut tuille.

He spoke about winning the School Chef of the Year competition, where he had to use a Quorn product and keep to tight budgetary conditions. At Hampton College (IFG Cucina) there is a food taste group who give their feedback on the school food about what they want to see more of.  

One of the most popular questions was why should aspiring chefs consider a career in the public sector in comparison to the private sector. Rob and some of the other public sector chefs had all previously worked in the private sector but they had been doing a lot of overtime before switching to the more family friendly public sector hours.

Dr Rupy finished the day with a quick demonstration of his own, vegetarian gumbo. He concluded that it was important to teach children how to cook in schools as this can make a big impact in terms of people’s health.