Pupils from English Martyrs’ School in Leicester have been taking part in the Tasty Careers Schools Challenge, a competition that challenges pupils to design food products that are healthy, sustainable, and commercially viable.
The Tasty Careers Schools Challenge is a National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (NSAFD) initiative, kindly supported by Samworth Brothers.
The competition has been running in Wales since 2018, this is the first time it has run in England. This Tasty Careers Schools Challenge required pupils to create a new, innovative sandwich for Samworth Brothers.
Previous winners in Wales have completed the briefs so successfully that their products have gone on to be professionally produced and sold.
This year’s competition involved 180 year 8 students all from English Martyrs’ School in Leicester. 3 winning teams were selected across the full year 8 group of students and the winning products included a low fat pitta and a sandwich with sealed edges using the wastage breadcrumbs as a coating.
David Hawkes, Careers Lead at English Marytrs’, said:
“The Tasty Careers Challenge has given the pupils an unforgettable opportunity outside of the classroom. They have had a chance to develop their skills by working together with others to develop a new and exciting food product that prepares them for the world of work. Communication from the Tasty Careers team was excellent throughout and I enjoyed engaging the pupils in a ‘real world’ project. We are grateful to Tasty Careers and all the partners for this opportunity and were particularly pleased to work with Samworth Brothers as a local employer. We were also delighted to welcome back an ex-student, as part of the day, who is currently completing their apprenticeship with Samworth Brothers”
Louise Cairns, CEO for NSAFD said:
“Congratulations to all the students for their outstanding performance in this year’s Tasty Careers Schools Challenge, supported by Samworth Brothers. The judges were highly impressed with all the entrants but the winners creations really stood out for sustainability, commercial viability – and of course, innovation. We hope that participating in this competition will inspire some pupils to consider a career in the food and drink manufacturing sector.”
Victoria Curtis, Head of L&D said:
“We are delighted to be piloting the new Tasty Schools Challenge competition in England for the first time as an extension to our work on the Tasty Careers programme. It is great to be able to help students to develop their food skills and we can’t wait to see the faces of the winning teams when they taste their culinary creations for the first time, recreated by our innovation chefs.”
