CHICKEN medallions with rainbow jewels served with courgette, rosemary and garlic focaccia, and lemon and strawberry cheesecake with cookie crumb and fresh strawberries . . .

The stuff of school dinners? Yes, if chef Scott Pring has anything to do with it!

Scott, a chef at Minehead Middle School, was named runner-up in the LACA South West School Chef of the Year 2020 regional final, held on Monday in Weston-super-Mare.

He was one of seven chefs from across the South West taking part in the regional finals, and judges were so impressed with him and a Plymouth contestant that they decided for the first time to award two joint runner-up places.

LACA represents over 3,300 organisations and individuals involved in delivering school meals, and school chefs from across Britain took part in this year’s competition to find the best.

The first round of judging took place in October, with seven entrants from Plymouth to Salisbury going through to Monday’s regional final.

Scott wowed the judges with his outstanding chicken dish and cheesecake, competing against such dishes as Indonesian Nasi Goreng and roasted peach in a cookie basket and the winner’s chicken and tarragon ravioli and Black Forest Brownie.

Competitors had 90 minutes to prepare, cook and present four portions of a two course imaginative meal, suitable for serving en masse to 11-year-olds in primary or secondary schools.

The meal had to comply with School Food Standards and the cost for one main course and dessert could not exceed £1.30.

The competition’s key aims are “to show to parents the high quality of school meals today and the contribution they not only make to the health and wellbeing of their children, but also their physical and educational attainment,” a spokesman said.

“The dishes that feature on the 2020 contestants’ menus demonstrate the ingenuity, skills and culinary expertise of today’s school chefs.

“With the inspiration for their ingredients, flavours and themes drawn from home and across the globe, their creative and tempting main courses and desserts were destined to seriously challenge the taste buds of the judges.”