The Grab ‘N’ Go Challenge invites school chefs to design, cook and serve a nutritious food item that can be eaten ‘on-the-go’ by youngsters. Chefs have until Friday 27th February to register their interest and until Friday 27th March to submit their entries.
Competitors are required to prepare cook and present four portions of a Grab ‘N’ Go/breaktime savoury snack with a total cost per head of 85p. Prizes include:
- £500 for the winning school chef, plus a £500 set of Wüsthof professional chef’s knives donated by SchoolGrid.
- 2nd prize - £250 for the second place school chef, plus a £100 Amazon voucher donated by SchoolGrid.
- 3rd prize - £100 for the third place school chef, plus a £100 Amazon voucher donated by SchoolGrid.
The entries will be paper judged with the best eight invited to cook off at a central location in May. Three finalists will be invited to the School Food People Show and Forum to cook their Grab ‘N’ Go item in a competition environment to decide the winner.
Marks will be awarded for originality of the finished dish; ease of eating on the go; practicality of the dish in a school setting; how well the flavours and ingredients work together; variety of textures in the finished dish and whether it is appealing to look at.
Dugald Curtis, chief executive at SchoolGrid, said: “The Grab ‘N’ Go Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for school chefs to showcase their skills. We’re delighted to be returning as the sponsor for 2026, and we are looking forward to supporting the competitors throughout the process.
“As a proactive supporter of providing good school food for young people, we are excited that all entries this year will use our award-winning kitchen management software to nutritionally analyse their recipes. We wish all competitors good luck!”
Register to take part in the 2026 edition of the Grab ‘N’ Go Challenge.