Tanya receives highly commended accolade
b12-144 Mobile Dinnerlady Tanya is competing in the regional finals of School Chef of the Year on Thursday.
A DINNERLADY wowed judges with her main course in the regional finals of a national cooking competition.
Tanya Watkin, who works for Flitwick-based catering company Eden Foodservice, competed against two other cooks in the regional finals of the national cooking competition School Chef of the Year.
She was not crowned the winner, but judges awarded the title of highly commended main course.
Tanya joined two other school chefs from the East of England on Thursday in a live cook-off at Bedford College.
This was the fourth time Tanya had entered the competition, which saw her come second in the national contest one year.
Just before the final the 38-year-old cook, who is based at Woodlands Academy in Flitwick but works in schools around Bedfordshire, said: “I came second nationally in my second attempt, so this year I’m really hoping I can go all the way.
“We have all had to come up with our own dishes and market them in a way that children would understand and like, so a lot of work has gone into it.”
The competition puts the preparation, cooking, creativity and presentation skills to the test. The three regional finalists have been asked to create a dish from £1,50
Tanya cooked a meal of Thai fish cakes served with a warm salad, lemon and coriander rice and cucumber chilli jam, followed by a blueberry and lime muffin.
Tanya added: “We had to create our meal around a theme, so I decided to do mine on brain food. I have been holding workshops with the children that teach them about how the brain works, and what foods can help stimulate the brain. I chose brain foods for my recipe and my table will be decorated with the brain food theme.”
School cook Wendy Kemp was crowned the winner and will now go through to the national round.
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Weather for Bedford
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 25 C
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