200 schools and counting – all set for celebrity School Cooks competition

More than 200 schools have already signed up for television chef Simon Rimmer's School Cooks competition – and hundreds more are expected to register for the nationwide competition over the next two weeks as the new school term gets underway.

Held in association with www.eatthechef.com, which equips students with the knowledge and skills to deal with the range of issues they face as they grow up, the competition culminates in April 2011 with a competition that will see one lucky entrant  will collect £10,000 worth of cooking equipment for their school.

All schools that enter the competition will be provided with a range of "high-quality" free lesson plans, which have been devised to fit in with Key Stage 3 Personal, Social, Health and Economics (PHSE) curriculum.

During the autumn/winter term, students will be taught practical skills including life-relevant topics such as nutritional health, and they will also be involved in creating a video that investigate not just internet safety issues, but the responsibilities involved when using the internet.

Safety in kitchens will also be explored in the lessons, and there will be an exploration of careers ranging from kitchen porter to celebrity chef and TV runner to show producer.

Once the lessons are completed, students will be given the opportunity to put their newly developed skills and ideas to the test when they create a video of themselves cooking a dish – just like a TV chef.

Resident chef on BBC2's Something for the Weekend, Rimmer, said: "The response to the challenge has been phenomenal.

"I launched School Cooks because I want children to have a go at cooking. One of the great pleasures you can have is to start with a set of raw ingredients and end up with something you can eat with your family or friends.

"It's very important. I want boys and girls to start cooking – and I want them to go home and carry on cooking there too."

The videos will then be uploaded to the competition website, which is accessible only to students and teachers belonging to their school, who can use the site to vote for their favourites before the best are placed into a regional final.

The winning chef from each of the six regions in the UK will then be entered into a national 'cook off' final, set to take place in Liverpool in April 2011. Rimmer then be tasked with deciding who will be crowned School Cooks champion and the winning school will be presented with their prize.

Teachers can visit: www.schoolcooks.co.uk for more information on the competition, entry details and lesson plans.

To see the regional finalists video entries and cast your vote visit: www.eatthechef.com.

Words: Georgiana Ndlovu

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