SCOTY 2020 winner appears on BBC North West and BBC Breakfast
The SCOTY competition is organised by LACA and sponsored by McDougalls. The competition encourages school chefs from around the UK to showcase their skills.
Charnock beat nine other regional winners and two ‘wild card' entries to be crowned the LACA SCOTY winner. Chefs had a maximum of £1.30 to spend and 90 minutes to prepare an imaginative, ‘school compliant’ two-course meal.
On BBC North West, Charnock said: “To be honest it was a complete shock. I went with absolutely no expectations. To see my dish on the table with everyone else’s, I just felt proud that it fitted in with everyone else’s. I felt proud of myself that it looked that it deserved to be there. To win was just the icing on the cake.
“The most important part of my job is try and broaden the children’s range of foods. I take it as a little personal victory when you get someone that wont try anything and by the end of the year they are eating absolutely everything and encouraging their friends to eat it as well.”
Charnock uses fresh ingredients, affordable cuts of meat and makes everything from scratch to ensure she stays within the government cost guidelines. Food is grown fresh at Woodlands Primary School in Liverpool and incorporated into her school meals.
On BBC Breakfast Charnock highlighted that she wanted to showcase that school chefs were ‘proper’ chefs and to encourage children to have a healthy balanced diet.
For winning SCOTY 2020 Charnock received:
- £1,000 cash prize.
- The SCOTY trophy.
- A work experience trip.
- Invitations to a calendar of catering industry engagements for 2020-2021.