Regional finals are due to run from April to June 2023, before the live final at LACA Main Event on Wednesday 5th and Thursday 6th July.

MKN’s study tour cements the partnership and has proved a popular element of the prize pot for previous winners. The 2020 SCOTY winner Holly Charnock and 2021 champion Robert Chambers finally had the opportunity to visit MKN’s HQ in Germany in November 2022 after Covid-19 delays.

As well as seeing the company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and appliances in-situ in German schools, each winner has the chance to meet members of the research and development team at MKN as well as learning and sharing best practice with experts from the German school catering sector.

The SCOTY competition is open to kitchen-based staff involved in the daily preparation of pupils’ meals in schools across the UK whether from a local authority or contract-catered site, managed in-house, academy school or part of a Multi-Academy Trust.

Wayne Bennett, vice president of sales and marketing for UK and Ireland at MKN, said: “SCOTY remains an incredibly prestigious competition and its fantastic to be involved in this way, giving us the chance to see the talent in the school catering sector first hand.

“As a manufacturer we’re committed to developing innovative, energy-efficient appliances that help increase productivity and maintain consistency in busy commercial kitchens such as schools. We’re proud to be involved with the competition and looking forward to taking another winner to Germany once the 2023 competition is complete.”

Entries for SCOTY 2023 are open until 3rd March 2023. For more information visit https://laca.co.uk/scoty.