Marston Green school chef wins regional culinary award

The chef at Marston Green Infants Academy in Solihull recently won the prestigious title of West Midlands School Chef of the Year 2017.

Jose Davies Kochakkadan showcased his culinary expertise and flair against two top chefs from Birmingham and Coventry to win the regional award.

With a maximum of £1.30 to spend the chefs had just one and a half hours to prepare a main course and dessert – which was not only healthy, but also likely to appeal to your average 11 year old.

Jose impressed the panel of chefs and catering professionals with an Indian inspired main followed by mango frangipane using mashed potato as a twist.

He will now compete against nine chefs for the top culinary title School Chef of the Year 2017 on Thursday 2nd March 2017 at Stratford-upon-Avon College.

Organised by the Lead Association for Catering in Education (LACA), the annual competition aims to show parents the high quality of school meals today and the contribution they make to their children’s health as well as physical and educational attainment.

On winning the regional award, Jose said: “I would like to thank all my colleagues and family for their support and blessings for helping me to retain West Midlands School Chef of the Year for 2017 and put Solihull Catering Services on the map.

“Looking forward for the national final, I will definitely put my heart and soul into competing against the other finalists to achieve one of my goals.”

Ms Beverley Elliott, Headteacher at Marston Green Infants Academy said: “This award helps to promote the fantastic food that is being created by school chefs and their expertise and dedication in preparing healthy meals that entice young palettes and cater for the diverse needs of children, as well as being sensitive to those children who have severe allergies.

“Winning Regional School Chef of the Year is a wonderful achievement for Jose but also for the Academy.

“As an educational establishment we are keen to promote a healthy lifestyle to our young children and their families and this award provides us with an opportunity to share Jose’s knowledge and skill to promote the importance of eating a good and well balanced meal.”

Councillor Ken Meeson, Solihull Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Skills, said: “The LACA School Chef of the Year competition is a brilliant way of recognising the talent among school chefs and the hard work they put in to provide fresh, nutritious and tasty school meals for our children.

“Solihull’s Catering Service has a strong track record of providing high quality meals for children in Solihull and further afield, so we are very proud to have one of our team members shortlisted for this prestigious industry award.”

Read more: http://www.solihull.gov.uk/news/ArtMID/820/ArticleID/1505/Solihull-school-chef-wins-regional-culinary-award