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Tom and Rob shared their experiences of working in the school meals industry and the challenges they are currently facing as well as discussing practical ideas on how the Premier Foods foodservice team can support the industry further. The duo then cooked lunch for those working at Premier Foods head office.

Sarah Robb, foodservice marketing manager, said: “As sponsors of the LACA School Chef of the Year competition it was exciting to invite Tom and Rob into our kitchens and work so closely with them.

“Our team are always on hand to support school caterers, it was amazing working with the guys and seeing how they used our foodservice products. It was great to hear first-hand how we can help the industry further. The food they cooked up was delicious and we could really see why these two talented chefs had taken the title of School Chef of the Year.”

Tom cooked his winning dishes from this year’s final which were tandoori Quorn & onion bhaji with minted yoghurt and coriander oil, Bisto Indian spiced Quorn cottage pie with crushed Bombay potatoes, butter sauce & greens and Bird’s coconut milk panna cotta with mango puree, mango gel and freeze-dried raspberries for dessert.

He commented: “It’s been a great experience! It’s a lot easier to cook for adults as they are more adventurous. Cooking for children can be tricky at the best of times, but adults normally tend to eat anything. It was great to cook alongside Rob; professionalism recognises professionalism, and you just jump in and match each other’s skillset. We worked together to create some amazing dishes.”

Rob created two new dishes and served up Homepride tomato risotto, chargrilled Mediterranean vegetables and basil pesto followed by a dessert of mixed berry trifle.

He added: “There is more of an open palate in adults, you don’t need to worry as much about portion sizes or adventuring too far out in terms of flavours. Since winning the title last year, it’s been a whirlwind, with lots of roadshows and cooking demonstrations. The whole year went by so quickly and I’ve loved every second of being part of the competition. It’s fantastic to have opportunities like this to showcase our skills and put school food in the spotlight.”

Premier Foods Foodservice offers a range of time-saving products and recipes to help school chefs. To celebrate its support of the School Chef of the Year competition, Premier Foods will soon be launching its dedicated SCOTY recipe book which will be packed full of dishes from this year’s final.