The graduation of the school chefs was celebrated on 18th February with a ‘School Meal Takeover’ at Abingdon Street Market. Blackpool Council Catering Services made a strategic decision to prioritise professional development for the team who are currently serving 6,000 meals daily across 17 schools.

The School Chef Educator programme builds on participants’ existing knowledge base with advanced culinary techniques, nutritional knowledge, and leadership capabilities – all of which are adapted specifically for school kitchen constraints and budgets.

The programme emphasises locally-sourced, high quality ingredients and techniques used in professional restaurant kitchens, adapted for the unique environment of school catering.

The programme's practical focus on reducing food waste, increasing vegetable uptake, and meeting School Food Standards while working within tight budgets makes it a replicable model for other authorities facing similar operational and health challenges.

Naomi Duncan, chief executive of Chefs in Schools, said: “Blackpool showed real vision in prioritising this. You can't transform school food without investing in the people who prepare it. Blackpool understood that, and now they're leading the way for the North West.

“Every school catering service we work with becomes a beacon for other. Blackpool's commitment to their workforce will inspire other local authorities across the North West to make similar investments."

According to Blackpool's Joint Strategic Needs Assessment, childhood obesity rates are significantly higher than national averages, with 26.8% of reception-age children and 42.5% of Year 6 children classified as overweight or obese – among the highest rates in the North West.

Research consistently demonstrates the link between nutrition and educational attainment. By investing in the skills of school catering teams, Blackpool is taking practical action to address both child health outcomes and create an environment where children are properly fuelled to learn.

Councillor Jo Farrell, cabinet member for communities and wellbeing, added: “Children need a variety of things to be able to thrive in school, including good food to fuel their learning. We’ve invested in their wellbeing and the professional development of our wonderful school kitchen teams through this training.

“Our school catering service already does an excellent job of keeping pupils and teachers well fed and all those who completed the training really embraced the opportunity to increase their skillsets. We’re all excited to try samples of their new menus at the School Meal Takeover event.”

The ten newly qualified school chefs will continue their professional development while mentoring colleagues across Blackpool Catering Services' school kitchens.