Competitors for the SCOTY competition, which is sponsored by Bisto from Premier Foods, must prepare, cook and present four portions of a main course and dessert with a total food cost of £1.75 per head in 90 minutes.
Duygu Dee Karakus from Cogan Primary School (Big Fresh Catering Company) made it through to the final after completing the Wales regional final. The two-course menus must meet the School Food Standards and Eat Well Guide.
Regional final winners will each receive a £100 cash prize and advance to the SCOTY final at The School Food Show and Forum. The cook-off took place at the same time as the South West regional final at the Rational Kitchen, Nisbets in Bristol.
Duygu made traditional Turkish lamb doner, roasted vegetables, Yorkshire Pudding with Greek yogurt and tomato gravy sauce for her main course. For dessert she created a Nut-free crisp baklava with apple, natural date sweetness and creamy butterscotch Angel Delight.
The competition was open to all kitchen-based staff involved in the daily preparation of pupils’ meals in schools across the UK whether from a local authority or contract-catered site, managed in-house, academy school or part of a Multi-Academy Trust.
Taher Jibet from Budmouth Academy (Impact Food Group) has won the South West School Chef of the Year (SCOTY) final where he was competing against three other local school chefs.
For his main course Taher cooked plant-based sausage wrapped in borlotti bean falafel, with lemon alioli. For his dessert he created a banana and custard noodles with date and brown sugar toffee.