North Yorkshire school chefs are being given a chance to develop their skills in food preparation and cookery as part of the county council’s bid to serve top quality and nutritious school meals to the county’s children.
Eighteen cooks have successfully completed an NVQ level 2 Diploma in Professional Cookery, an award which recognises and develops more advanced skills in the kitchen.
North Yorkshire County Caterers, the county council’s school meals service, ensures that food is freshly made with locally sourced ingredients whenever possible and places great importance on constantly improving the skills of kitchen staff, encouraging them to take pride in producing excellent meals for children.
The chefs were presented with certificates by Keith Tillbrook, North Yorkshire County Caterers’ manager at the Thirsk head office, after a year of training in their own kitchens and at one of the county’s FEAST centres ( Food, Excellence and Skills Training ) in partnership with the county council’s adult learning and skills service and York College.
The following chefs have successfully completed the course: Carolyn McNeil, Hutton Rudby primary school; Sharon Morrison peripatetic cook; Lesley Christon, Thirsk community Primary School; Jean Parvin and Jackie Hemingway, Carlton Minniot community primary school; Shelly McBridge, Swainby and Potto C of E Primary School; Debbie Hopson, relief cook; Carol Pownall, Hipswell C of E primary school; Robert Dakins, Richmond Methodist primary school; Lisa Auton and Amanda Spence, Richmond School; Rebecca Sherwood Smith, Sacred Heart R/C primary school; Roseberry Webster, Hilary Nabbs and Karen Adams, Easingwold School; Sharon Moat and Brenda Thorpe, Yearsley Grove primary school, York; Renata Milcukein, Tockwith C of E primary school.
Since 2007, 173 members of the North Yorkshire schools catering staff have successfully completed their NVQ 2 in Professional Cookery or in Food Processing and Cooking.
County Councillor Arthur Barker, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Schools said:
It is important to invest in our school catering staff in this way. In the long run it is children who will benefit from increasingly healthy, varied and attractive school meals.
(left to right): Keith Tillbrook, Manager; Jackie Hemingway, Carlton Minniot primary school; Shelly Mcbride, Swainby and Potto Church of England primary; Jean Parvin, Carlton Minniot; Carolyn McNeil, Hutton Rudby primary; Rosemary Webster, and Karen Adams, Easingwold School; Debbie Hopson, relief cook; Robert Dakins, Richmond Methodist primary; Duncan Holme, NVQ tutor; Jacqui Banks, NVQ and awarding body manager; Linda Burgon, principal Officer,Adult Learning
