A SCHOOL chef has won a prestigious regional award and now has the opportunity to go for national glory.

Priory Community School catering manager Ann Nicholls cooked her way to success at the South West regional phase of the LACA School Chef of The Year Awards last week.

The Worle chef with Edwards & Ward, North Somerset Council’s school meal contract caterer, beat five other finalists with her winning dishes of fishermans potato skin with smoked cheddar, followed by chewy ginger and strawberry tart.

Ann now goes forward to the national final in May to cook off for the title of LACA School Chef of The Year.

The annual competition, organised by the Local Authority Caterers Association (LACA), puts the preparation, cooking, creativity and presentation skills of school chefs to the test with each entrant required to produce, in just one and a half hours, a healthy balanced two-course meal comprising of a main course and dessert that would appeal to 11-year-olds in school.

A maximum of �1.35 is allowed for the cost of a single meal.