Wilmington Academy head chef cooks for Princess Anne
Cucina's Scott McKenzie showcases school produce at South of England Agricultural Show
On Thursday, 5 June, at Brighton's South of England Agricultural Show (SEAS), Cucina Restaurants' Scott McKenzie, Head Chef at Wilmington Academy Dartford, joined forces with Head of Horticulture Lloyd Burke to stage live cooking demonstrations using produce grown in their school gardens.
Scott made a sweet potato and ginger soup with celery, leek, onion, carrots and garlic, and a stir-fry using the Academy's home-grown carrots, courgettes, leeks, peppers, coriander, ginger, chilies, red and white onion, beans and sprouts.
Scott said: "We got a fantastic reception from everyone and it was great to chat to Princess Anne and hear how enthusiastic she was about what we are doing at Wilmington Academy."
Tracey Trusler, Principal of Wilmington Academy said: "The 'fork to fork' initiative pioneered at Wilmington by Scott and LLoyd has taken Horticulture studies to another dimension for our students and I can't thank them enough for their hard work and commitment."
Sam Davies, Cucina's Director of Food said: "Scott and Lloyd are showing just what is possible in producing fresh food in school allotments. We are really excited about the new educational partnerships we are developing with our client schools."
Notes to editors
* Cucina Restaurants works to develop gardens and allotments at its 42 school contracts. It serves a wide range of freshly cooked food, prepared on site each day, to over 50,000 school students
* South East England Agricultural Show, now in its 6th year, is organised by South of England Agricultural Society
* Cucina has operated a contract at Wilmington Academy since September 2011
(Pictured: HRH Princess Anne samples Wilmington stir-fry with Lloyd Burke, Head of Horticulture, and Cucina's Scott McKenzie, Head Chef at Wilmington Academy)
doug@bestwords.co.uk
07973751039
Website: www.cucina.co.uk/media
