Local school chef serves up a win with School Caterer of the Year Award!
Every job role is critical in a school; as fabulous as our leaders and teachers are (and they really are), it’s so important that we recognise every member of staff regardless of where they work in the building.
This time, the spotlight is rightfully on Richard Hardy, a Chef Manager at Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust (BWCET).
Anyone involved in School Catering will know what SCOTY means and how incredibly prestigious it is to be a winner! For those who aren’t quite familiar, it’s the School Caterer of the Year Award; Richard is celebrating winning the North East and Scotland regional final for 2024, and will represent the region at the national finals in July this year.
Huge congratulations, Richard!
A high steaks competition
Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the competition is run by LACA and aims to demonstrate the importance of high-quality cooking in school meals.
Talented chefs from up and down the country not only showcase and develop their skills within this prestigious catering event, but also put their school food on the map.
Nick Hurn OBE, CEO of Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, said: “School meals have come so far over the years and we congratulate Richard for his success in the School Chef of the Year competition, particularly as he was competing against four other school chefs.
“We are absolutely delighted that his talents and abilities have been independently recognised, and that high-quality school meals continue to be a national priority – something we believe is fundamental for all our pupils, staff and wider school communities to enable all to flourish.”
Participating Chefs had to produce a main course and a dessert and were judged against a comprehensive criteria including flavour, creativity, originality, presentation, and best cooking practices. When inspecting and tasting the meals, judges were looking for ‘innovative and creative’ ways that ingredients were used in the finished dishes.
Richard impressed the judges with his dish called “East meets West”, which was a harmonious blend of global cultures and flavours. Imagine this: a trio of Yorkshire puddings flavoured with Indian spices and stuffed with tandoori chicken, lentil and squash dahl, and keema turkey – all served with a red onion salad and mint yoghurt.
Yes, please! We’ll take nine of those.
For dessert, Richard prepared a coconut, lime, and mango cheesecake, with a coconut biscuit base which he called a ‘Slice of Paradise’. The senior culinary advisor and SCOTY head judge thought the flavour across all three curries was exceptional, with impressive presentation.
Chris Zarraga, Director of Schools North East, said: “We’re thrilled to hear of Richard’s recent success at the School Caterer of the Year Awards. Food is fuel; our children and young people need school meals that offer nutritional support while improving academic performance and healthy eating habits – and yes, it should taste good, too!
“It seems as though Richard has ticked every box here, and the North East should be proud to have him as a member of our community.”
Nothing’s impasta-able when you have an amazing school community around you!
Bishop Wilkinson understands how important it is to fuel young minds so that everyone fulfils their academic potential, enjoys their school day, and is enabled to flourish.
They provide wholesome nourishment, ensuring they know what children need as well as what they enjoy, developing nutritious, delicious, seasonal and healthy food that pupils love, alongside helping to ensure a healthy body and mind.
The in-house school catering team is dedicated to using the freshest ingredients, with top grade meats and other locally-sourced goods to minimise its carbon footprint.
When it comes to specific allergies and dietary requirements, the team caters to all pupils’ needs with regular training offered to ensure staff stay on top of important allergen information and global market changes.
Richard is part of a team of 150 passionate, dedicated and skilled catering professionals at Bishop Wilkinson, serving more than 1.2 million school meals each year.
Whilst he has worked at the school for many years, Richard has an impressive Michelin star background, previously working in prestigious establishments including The Spa Hotel, Saltburn.
Richard said: “I am blown away to have won the regional final of SCOTY, and feel extremely honoured and humbled to represent the North East and Scotland region at the national finals.”
Best of luck for this final leg of the competition, Richard!
Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust is a Schools North East Partner Trust. If you’d like to find out more about our Partner Programme, click here.
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