Latymer Upper has the best chef in Britain

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Marcia Bowes has been named Best School Cook

Local chef Marcia Bowes has been named Best School Cook in the Best School Dinner in Britain Awards, a nationwide search by supermarket Waitrose for the school with the best food in the UK. Marcia, who works at Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, competed against three other finalists during a live cook off at Bournemouth & Poole College to win the coveted title. Scolarest’s team at Latymer Upper School was shortlisted for the final after being nominated by the school chaplain Peter Simpson for the creative, innovative menus it offers to students.

Competing in the Best School Cook, Secondary category, Marcia had 30 minutes to prepare her ingredients and two hours to cook four covers of each of her dishes. Her winning menu, which had to incorporate a main course, a vegetarian dish and a dessert, featured Tuscan chicken and celeriac and potato mash, with cauliflower and broccoli, a vegetarian dish of stuffed courgettes, and sticky date pudding with toffee and ginger sauce for dessert. The judges, who included Daily Telegraph food writer Tamasin Day Lewis, were looking for a varied, healthy and nutritious approach to cooking, combining imagination with good ingredients.

All the dishes cooked were required to be a reflection of the meals usually served as part of the school’s menus. As part of a four-strong chef team at Latymer Upper School, Marcia and her colleagues are responsible for developing innovative menus that appeal to students at the school but are healthy and nutritionally balanced. “I am delighted to have won this award which recognises the hard work and effort that the Scolarest catering team puts into developing creative, healthy meals which students at Latymer Upper School can enjoy and look forward to eating,” says Marcia, who was presented with a bottle of champagne and a prize of £2,500 for the school.

“We are really delighted with Marcia’s success,” says Mike Bond, Scolarest managing director for independent schools. “She is a shining example of how the creativity and flair of school chefs is making dining in schools closer to a restaurant experience.”

Peter Winter, the Head at Latymer Upper School says: “Everyone at Latymer is delighted by Marcia’s achievement. It comes as no surprise however, as the outstanding quality and variety of meals is a widely recognised feature of the School. Marcia and her fellow chefs are greatly prized at the School and this accolade is richly deserved.”

December 12, 2004