The winners receive a prize of £500 cash, a Caterers’ Challenge trophy and an expenses-paid trip to the LACA Main Event on 8th July where the trophies will be presented.
The Caterers’ Challenge recognises and celebrates the vital contribution of catering teams in delivering the Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign and its positive impact in schools. Tilda continued their sponsorship of these awards this year, which acknowledges the key role these teams play in the campaign's success.
Endeavour Primary School earned the gold prize for their passion, dedication and creative approach. The judges were especially impressed by their space-theme which transported students to both the Solar System and the ‘Vegiverse’.
Featuring displays such as a massive rocket and a large silver moon, along with imaginative space-themed food and vegetables like vegetable aliens and tomato monsters, the team truly stood out. Pupils from all year groups participated in the campaign through designing and constructing props, creating artwork, developing vegetable tasting recipes and learning about vegetables in the school kitchen.
Dan Parker, chief executive at Veg Power, said: “We are continually amazed by the school catering teams' ingenuity, passion, and commitment to Eat Them to Defeat Them, which is crucial to the campaign's success. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all the participating catering teams, especially the winners, for their efforts in making the initiative engaging and impactful for pupils and supporting us to get more children eating veg.”
The Eat Them to Defeat Them campaign aims to ‘inspire’ children to eat more veg in school and to continue that behaviour at home.
As with previous years, the 2025 evaluation found that children ate more veg and enjoyed the experience with 82% of parents saying their child ate more veg and 83% of children saying they really enjoyed participating in the campaign.
Joanna Barnaby, assistant head at Endeavour Primary, added: “Karen is relentless in going above and beyond in ensuring the children have the best lunchtime experience possible.
“The children are really engaged with the booklets that go home, the stickers they receive and the decorations that are around the school. We publicise the campaign through school newsletters and assemblies. The children really engage with the Eat Them To Defeat Them week and love the campaign.”
Annette Coggins, head of foodservice at Tilda UK, commented: "We’re absolutely thrilled to celebrate Karen Ross from Endeavor School, Andover on her incredible hat trick win on the Tilda Caterers’ Challenge for the third year in a row.
"Her Fiesta Rice Cups with Mango & Pineapple Salsa are a fantastic example of how rice and veg work perfectly together and a wonderful way to get children eating more veg. Tilda loves working with Veg Power and passionate caterers like Karen, who are totally committed to making healthy school meals super exciting and nutritious.