Andy Munns
Jennifer Brown from Sarum Academy in Salisbury was one of 11 school chefs across the UK who competed at the LACA School Chef of the Year (SCOTY) 2023 final.
LACA is the leading professional body for the school food sector. Its prestigious culinary competition, SCOTY, focuses on the skills and talents of chefs across the education sector and their essential role in providing nutritious, high-quality, well-balanced meals for our children and future generations.
With entries to the 30th anniversary 2024 competition now officially open, Jennifer is urging other passionate, dedicated, talented school chefs across Wiltshire to register their interest.
Commenting on her SCOTY journey and why other school chefs should enter, Jennifer said: “SCOTY is a great experience and brilliant way to meet like-minded people who care and are passionate about school meals and the students they cater for. From a professional perspective, it encourages you to think more creatively, enabling you to learn more about yourself and develop your career further.
“One of my favourite parts of the competition is being able to put your school on the map – showcasing the healthy, well-balanced meals we make at the Academy. But more so the feeling of making your family, college friends and students proud. I enjoyed every minute of my SCOTY experience – it’s such a unique competition and would recommend it to school chefs all over Wiltshire!”
At the National Finals, Jennifer produced a main dish of baked pollock and spinach fishcake, sweet potato fries, crushed minted peas with a tangy curry sauce dip, followed by a dessert of Choux buns filled with butterscotch and banana, drizzled with chocolate sauce and banana dust.
Her dishes have now been featured in a new recipe book produced by the competition’s headline sponsor Bisto, from Premier Foods Foodservice. Created to mark the launch of the competition’s 30th anniversary, the new book showcases the incredible talent of school chefs and aims inspire a new cohort to enter this year’s highly anticipated event.
Sarah Robb, foodservice marketing manager at Premier Foods Foodservice, said: “We are inviting school chefs across Wiltshire to enter SCOTY 2024 – an amazing national competition to showcase their culinary skills and the incredibly high standard of their school food.
“Our new recipe book is a celebration of the passion, dedication and talent school chefs such as Jennifer bring to their kitchens every day. We believe that by sharing her recipes as the competition reaches its 30th anniversary, we can inspire other school chefs across Wiltshire to embrace the unique challenges of SCOTY which – as we know from previous years – offers so many benefits from both a personal and professional standpoint.”
The recipe collection highlights the passion and skill school chefs bring, to consistently provide nutritious, high quality and well-balanced meals for children. It also showcases the diversity of food that can be found in school kitchens nationwide. From British classics such as beef casserole with Yorkshire pudding and summer berry dessert; to the Asian-inspired crispy fishcake cooked by 2023 winner Raheem Morgan; as well as tropical delights including Caribbean-infused crispy fried chicken in jerk sauce and pineapple and toasted coconut mousse. Each dish incorporated at least one product from the following Premier Foods Foodservice brands: Bisto, McDougalls, Sharwoods, Smash, Batchelors, Angel Delight, Bird’s and Ambrosia.
The recipe collection can be downloaded here – https://www.premierfoodservice.co.uk/getattachment/d15543c4-4ee2-4661-893d-bc01b4135c5b/SCOTY-2023-Recipe-Book.pdf?lang=en-GB&ext=.pdf
School chefs across Wiltshire have until Friday 26th January 2024 to register their details here: https://www.laca.co.uk/form/scoty-registration-form
