Wendy Lohse has become another of this year’s School Chef of the Year (SCOTY) finalists after winning the South East of England regional final, held at Bidfood’s headquarters in Slough.
Wendy Shalfleet from CofE Primary School (Chartwells) made lightly fried Quorn ‘fishless’ cakes served with cucumber relish and spicy mayo as her grab & go. For the main course, he created ground Quorn satay with lemongrass and turmeric rice, coconut green beans and fresh sambal. For dessert, Wendy served chewy ginger cookies with mango custard ice cream and fresh fruit and lime gels.
Andrew Walker, Culinary Director at Chartwells UK attended the competition and said: “The SCOTY is without a doubt the most important food competition for any school catering business. Nothing else has such heritage, heart and forward thinking.”
At the national final, the 2022 national winner will receive a cash prize of £1,000, the 2022 LACA School Chef of the Year award and an invitation to the catering events calendar.
Chair of the judges, Quorn’s Kate Snow added: “This is a very exciting competition this year. As well as a main course and dessert, we’ve introduced a grab and go offer. It’s exciting to see the innovation and creativity amongst the chefs and the Quorn dishes they create.
Second place went to Arkadiusz Aoun Kosiacki from the bilingual elementary school (Impact Food Group). For his grab & go product, he prepared a wrapped pastry with smoked ham, feta, tomato and spinach. His main course was a crispy Quorn sausage with basil mash, roasted tomato sauce, roasted vegetables and Parmesan chips. For dessert, he created a chocolate-banana mousse with fresh strawberries and tuile cookies.
The national final will be held at the LACA Main Event on Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th July at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, with the overall winner announced on Thursday evening 7th July.