School chef wins award for her best dish

A SCHOOL chef has won a national cooking competition thanks to one of her tasty dishes.

Gill Dudman, head chef at Manor Green Primary School, won first prize for her roasted sausage autumn bake in a competition run by the British Pig Executive (BPEX).

The judging panel at BPEX said Gill's dish was the outstanding choice because it was the most nutritious and simple to make.

Gill, who fought off 92 other entries to win first prize, came face-to-face with a giant sausage as reward for winning the competition

Mr Sausage, the mascot for British Sausage Week, visited Manor Green, in Ifield, last Friday.

Gill, who has been a school chef for 25 years and has worked at Manor Green Primary School since it opened six years ago, said: "My job is very enjoyable. "The interaction I get with the kids at lunchtime is great and to contribute towards their healthy eating makes me feel very proud.

"I am surprised to win the award but obviously very happy. It is nice to be recognised in this way."

As part of the school's healthy eating schedule, sausages are served twice a month.

School meals are required to provide two of the five-a-day portions of fruit and vegetables and Gill's dish exceeds this.

Tony Goodger, from BPEX, said: "West Sussex schools have been very proactive in working with us to improve the quality of food produced for school children."

Gill, whose favourite type of sausage is a Lincolnshire, was awarded a £100 gift voucher for Marks and Spencer as well as receiving a medal and a certificate.

BPEX presented the Ifield school with a microscope, designed especially for school children, and also made a £100 donation to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation on Gill's behalf.

Gill's special ingredients

This is the recipe Gill uses when cooking the roasted sausage bake for 180 school children.

Ingredients:

• 5x48 sausages

• 10 butternut squash

• 20 parsnips

• ½ a box of carrots

• 2kg onions

• 1 box of new potatoes

• garlic bulb

• rosemary

Cut all the Vegetables into even sized pieces.

Cut the sausages in half.

Put the sausages in a roasting tin with the vegetables, garlic and rosemary.

Add a little olive oil and give it a quick stir.

Roast until cooked.