17th January 2018

Entries now open for McDougalls Young Baking Team of the Year

Written by: Katie Imms
Entries are now open for McDougalls Young Baking Team of the Year competition until 31 March, which will see five schools take home up to £1,000 worth of kitchen equipment from parent brand Premier Foods.

“Helping pupils learn more about where their food comes from” – revealed last year that 41% of children didn’t know that eggs come from chickens – this year’s bake-off will continue to focus on local produce and encourage schools to source local ingredients for their recipes.

 

To participate, schools must submit a team of up to three 7-11 year old pupils via http://premierfoodservice.co.uk/ by 31 March, along with either a sweet or savoury recipe which includes one local ingredient and one McDougalls flour based mix.

 

The final will then take place in front of judges, including the Craft Guild of Chefs’s Green Andrew, at LACA – The Main Event on 12 July. The winning team will be rewarded £1,000 worth of equipment for their school kitchen, while the four runners up will for the first time win £250 worth.

 

Mark Taylor, customer controller at Premier Foods, said: “It is really important to us that the McDougalls Young Baking Team of the Year competition helps develop children’s cooking skills, in addition to educating them on where ingredients come from. 

 

“Last year it was revealed that 41% of children didn’t know that eggs come from chickens, so we’re proud to run an initiative that can help rectify this knowledge gap. Our McDougalls range of flour based mixes offer an easy to use base for a range of sweet and savoury dishes, so schools can really get their creative juices flowing to make their dish stand out to our panel of judges.”

 

Last year’s winner Chapter House Preparatory School’s chef, Sarah Middlemiss, added: “We were delighted to be crowned the champions of the 2017 competition. Our recipe was inspired by our school tradition of serving meringues with berries for our school birthday celebrations, and also by our delicious home grown strawberries from the school’s very own vegetable garden.

 

“The experience has been invaluable for the children and I would encourage everyone to take part. The children have not only learnt new cooking and teamwork skills, but they have had fun in the process. Good luck to all the 2018 entrants!”