Kate Davies with her Marketing Table at the LACA competition
Kate Davies, from St Gwladys Primary School in Bargoed, represented Wales in the Final of the Lead Association for Catering in Education (LACA) School Chef of the Year competition at the Foodservices Wing, Defence Logistics School, Worthy Down, Hampshire on Wednesday 21st May 2014.
The annual competition puts the preparation, cooking, creativity, technical ability and presentation skills of school chefs to the test with each entrant required to produce, in just one and a half hours, a healthy balanced two- course meal that would appeal to Year 6 pupils. The composition of the dishes must conform to nutritional standards.
Kate’s delightful dishes were spiced beef seekh kebabs served with fragrant coconut rice accompanied by a cool mint and cucumber raita dip, sweet and spicy tomato and apple chutney and traditional Indian flatbread. For dessert, Kate served apple and cinnamon samosa with a sweet yoghurt sauce and raspberry coulis.
Kate wowed the judges with her Caerphilly Catering marketing table and won the Marketing Certificate of Merit. This award is made to acknowledge the creativity and efforts put into the display tables produced by the Finalists as a backdrop to their dishes. Service Counter Marketing is one of the eight judging criteria in the competition. Kate won this category for her highly creative, educational and inspiring marketing table display, the theme of which related to her dishes – ‘A Taste of the East’.
Cllr. David Poole, Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services, said, “I’d like to congratulate Kate on reaching the Finals of School Chef of the Year and winning the Marketing Certificate of Merit. Entering competitions such as these highlights the good work carried out by school catering staff and demonstrates the high quality, nutritious meals provided in schools across Caerphilly borough.”
Kate, who has been employed by Caerphilly Catering for past eight years said “I’m absolutely over the moon to have come this far, I feel so proud. I’d like to thank my family, the Caerphilly Catering team and St Gwladys School Bargoed for all their support throughout this competition.”
To find out more about school meals in Caerphilly please visit www.myschoollunch.co.uk/caerphilly.
