Big School Bake Off 2016 semi-finalists revealed

21 June 2016 by
Big School Bake Off 2016 semi-finalists revealed

Ten school caterers have made it through to the semi-final of the Big School Bake Off 2016 competition, which will take place next month.

Judges from the Children's Food Trust, the Lead Association for Catering in Education (LACA) and Unilever Food Solutions said they were impressed with the creativity demonstrated by all entries.

They have now chosen 10 shortlisted contestants who will compete in the semi-final on 7 July, which will be held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole as part of the LACA Main Event.

The school cooks, represent 10 LACA regions and will have an hour and a half to transform their paper entries into a show stopping creation.

In line with the School Food Standards in England, this year entries had to include a minimum of 50% fruit to meet the standard for the fruit-based desserts on the menu at least twice a week.

Judges will be looking for flair, creativity and technical ability. The eight highest scoring semi-finalists will go on to compete in the final at the Unilever Food Solutions' Chefmanship Centre in Leatherhead on 27 September 2016.

Alex Hall, executive chef at Unilever Food Solutions and part of the judging panel said: "Our aim for this competition has always been to encourage school caterers to bake from scratch, improving their skills and making them feel part of the catering industry. We want to celebrate these unsung heroes. This year we added a specific nutritional requirement to the entry criteria and have seen some great bakes on paper. I can't wait to taste the semi-finalists' bakes at LACA."

There will be no representatives from Wales or Northern Ireland as entries did not meet the 50% fruit criteria.

The competition was launched in 2014 with the aim of recognising the talent and passion in school kitchens.

The semi-finalists for each region are:

• East Midlands: Helen Conboy, the Deepings School
• East of England: Debbie Donnor, Nene Primary School
• London: Mel Sinclair, St Paul's Primary School
• North East: Simon Rawle, North Tyneside Council Catering Services
• North West: Sarah Levenson, Lordsgate Township CofE Primary School
• Scotland: Sheila Clyne, Burnfoot Community School
• South East: Mark Kent, Folkestone Academy
• South West: Lisa Christopher, St Mary's CofE Primary School
• West Midlands: Nigel Simmonds, Connect Catering
• Yorkshire & Humberside: Christine Parr, Warmsworth Primary School

Eight school caterers to compete in Big School Bake Off final >>

Unilever and LACA launch the 2015 Big School Bake Off Competition >>

Shortlist revealed for McDougalls Young Baking Team of the Year 2016 >>

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