Celebrate local food & nurture young talent

We are now launching the 2021 Create & Cook Competition.

Closing date for entries will be Friday 26th March 2021.

Please email us by 4th December to register your school for the 2021 competition here

2020 has been an extraordinary year but one positive that has emerged is the increased interest and support for our local shops and food producers. We really want this to continue and hope lots of new young cooks will enter the competition this year and learn about the importance of local food. At this stage we want everyone to "create" locally inspired menus and come next year we hope we can all "cook" them too in school and in our county & regional finals.

"I learnt local food is good for me, my community and the planet" Noah, Bredon School, Tewkesbury, Glos

The Create & Cook Competition is a fun project for schools focusing on local food. The competition is open to 12-14 year olds (years 8 and 9) in secondary schools in Hampshire, Sussex, Isle of Wight, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Shropshire. The brief is to work in pairs and create a two course menu using as many locally produced ingredients as possible. The competition challenges pupils to learn about where their food comes from and explore the key issues of seasonality and sustainability. Young cooks enter the competition through their school.