Doucecroft School's Aron competing for School Chef of the Year Autism Anglia’s Doucecroft School chef is in the running for School Chef of the year 2024 Pupils at Autism Angia’s Doucecroft school in Eight Ash Green are lucky enough to enjoy some very delicious and healthy meals prepared by the catering staff at the school. They are so good in fact, that one of them is now being recognised for his culinary abilities by LACA which is a professional body for school catering. Aron Jordan, kitchen manager is through to the regional finals for the LACA School Chef of the Year 2024 competition, sponsored by Bisto, from Premier Foods. The competition aims to demonstrate the importance of high-quality cooking in school meals and is open to all kitchen-based staff involved in the daily preparation of pupils’ meals in schools across the UK whether from a local authority or contract-catered site, managed in-house, academy school or part of a Multi-Academy Trust. In the first stage of the competition, he was tasked with creating four portions of a main course and four portions of a dessert with a limited budget of £6.40. Aron said: "I entered this competition to challenge my cookery skills and techniques. It will be interesting to see how I compare to other chefs cooking school meals across the country, and I might learn some new ideas along the way." The next stage of the competition will see him representing East of England region on the 10th June where he will be required to create a main course and desert using a minimum of one Bisto product in their main course and one Premier Foods ingredient in their dessert. Judges will be looking for ‘innovative and creative ways’ the products have been used in the finished dishes. If Aron is successful at the regional finals in June, he will be asked to compete in the national finals where the winner will receive a £1,000 cash prize, the 2024 LACA School Chef of the Year trophy and an invitation to a calendar of catering industry events. Louise Parkinson, headteacher said: "Our school is lucky to have Aron who always creates tasty food, as well as running a cooking club to encourage our pupils to cook. "Our pupils are autistic and at times struggle with textures and types of food, but with Aron’s creativity he finds ways to help them try new foods and makes his menus irresistible." Doucecroft School is a specialist co-educational school for autistic children and young people with additional complex needs. To find out more about Doucecroft school, CLICK HERE Update 11th June 2024 We are delighted to announce that Aron cooked up a storm in the regional finals and won! He will now be competing in the national finals. The national final will be held at the on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th July at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole with the overall winner announced on the evening of Thursday 4th July. Congratulations Aron and good luck in July! Manage Cookie Preferences