We’re absolutely thrilled to share that AiP chef Lee Taylor, has been named a finalist at this year’s StrEATfood Awards.
Hosted by Contract Catering Magazine, the awards celebrate creativity and innovation across the contract catering industry. This year’s 16 finalists will compete in a series of challenges, starting with cooking their signature dish for a panel of judges before taking on a technical challenge using a selection of ingredients provided on the day.
Reaching the final is a fantastic achievement and for Lee a well-deserved recognition of his creativity and skill as a chef.
Bringing fresh ideas to school food
At AiP, we know that good school food means giving pupils a reason to look forward to meal times. That’s why our teams are passionate about serving food that’s fresh, familiar and tasty, while also giving pupils something new to discover.
Our menus bring traditional school favourites such as roast dinners and fish and chips together with flavours inspired by the food young people enjoy beyond the school gates. Street food is a big part of this approach, with dishes such as biryani bowls, tacos, noodle pots, shawarma and loaded wedges bringing different flavours and formats to the menu.
Lee’s recognition at this year's StrEATfood Awards reflects this spirit of culinary innovation. Our chefs are constantly exploring new ideas and finding ways to make food exciting for the pupils we serve.
Listening to what pupils want
Creating delicious food that pupils enjoy starts with listening. At AiP, we build our menus with pupils, rather than for them. Gathering feedback from pupils and parents through surveys, tasting sessions and student council workshops is part of the process. We give young people the opportunity to tell our chefs what they like, what they don’t and what they’d like to see on the menu.
Insights like these help us shape flavours and spice levels to serving formats and grab-and-go options. Our menus are refreshed regularly to keep pace with changing tastes and food trends.
Our menus bring familiar favourites alongside something completely new. When pupils walk into the dining room thinking “I know that”, “I love that” or “I can’t wait to try that”, we know we’re getting it right.
Fresh food, cooked from scratch
At AiP, 90% of our menu is cooked from scratch, with our chefs preparing food using quality ingredients. We also work with nutritional experts to create balanced menus that meet and go beyond the School Food Standards. Our approach to food is reflected in the choices we make every day, from using UK-sourced and Red Tractor assured meat to offering vegetarian and planet-friendly vegan dishes alongside seasonal ingredients.
For our chefs, that means there’s plenty of scope to create food that is both appealing and nutritionally balanced.
Celebrating our chefs
The StrEATfood Awards are a chance to celebrate the talent and creativity of chefs across the catering industry, and we’re particularly proud to see Lee representing AiP in this year’s final.
His achievement is a great reflection of the passion and culinary expertise within our teams and the care that we take into creating food that pupils genuinely want to eat.
We’d like to wish Lee the very best of luck for the final.
Congratulations Lee, from everyone at AiP.