Grab 'N' Go Challenge

Competitors are required to prepare cook and present four portions of a grab & go/breaktime savoury snack with a total cost per head of 85p

REGISTER TO TAKE PART

Competition timings:

• Registrations of interest open until Friday 27th February 2026.
• Submit your entry form by Friday 27th March 2026.
• Entries will be paper judged with the best eight invited to cook off at a central location in mid-May 2026.
• Three finalists will be invited to the LACA School Food Show on Tuesday 7th July to cook their Grab ‘n’ Go item in a competition environment to decide the winner.
• The overall winner will be announced at the LACA Informal Dinner on Tuesday 7th July 2026.
• The winner will demonstrate their winning recipe on the LACA Live demonstration theatre at the School Food Show on Wednesday 8th July.

The final shortlist of three school chefs will be invited to the LACA School Food Show in Birmingham to compete for the overall title on Tuesday 7th July. Competitors would be expected to fund travel to the School Food Show, the competition will fund overnight accommodation and a place at the Informal Dinner where the winner will be announced on Tuesday 7th July 2026.

Prizes

1. £500 for the winning school chef, plus a £500 set of Wüsthof professional chef’s knives donated by SchoolGrid.
2. 2nd prize - £250 for the second place school chef, plus a £100 Amazon voucher donated by SchoolGrid.
3. 3rd prize - £100 for the third place school chef, plus a £100 Amazon voucher donated by SchoolGrid.

REGISTER TO TAKE PART

Meet the 2025 winner

Judging criteria:

Marks will be awarded for:

• Originality of the finished dish.

• Ease of eating on the go.

• Practicality of the dish in a school setting

• How well the flavours and ingredients work together.

• Variety of textures in the finished dish.

• Appealing to look at.

The competition is open to all staff that hold a kitchen based post and who are involved in the daily preparation of students’ meals. Contestants may work in more than one kitchen as a mobile chef. Management, area managers, training managers or development chefs are not eligible to enter.

Entries may be submitted by any school meal provider.

Competition rules

1. The competition is open to LACA members and non-members to enter and submit a recipe. Any non-members chosen to be one of the finalists in July would be required to join LACA to be able to take part.
2. You will be required to produce four portions of a grab & go/ breaktime savoury snack item.
3. Cost per portion not to exceed 85p for food and serving item. (to include food costs and serving item eg box, cone, paper
   wrapping).
4. All ingredients/elements to be freshly prepared on the day of the competition.
5. Competition time is 40 minutes to prepare, cook and present four portions of the dish.
6. The entry submitted must include the completed costing sheet, recipe method and at least one photograph of the finished dish.
7. Deep fat frying is not permitted.
8. In line with the new legislation in force, competitors should avoid single use plastics when preparing and presenting their finished dish.
9. Competitors/employers will be required to fund travel to the elimination round cook off and national final of the competition, along with all ingredients required to complete the finished dishes.