The school dinner star shooting for glory
CHEF WILL BE COMPETING AT NATIONAL FINALS
SCHOOLS are struggling with a “leaky pipeline” of teachers, with not enough joining the profession and too many leaving, headteachers have warned.
There is a continuing teacher recruitment crisis, according to the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), which accused the Government of failing to ensure there were enough workers for a growing school population.
The Department for Education (DfE) insisted there were record number of teachers in England’s schools, and that they were taking steps to address the recruitment challenges faced by schools.
Two-thirds (66%) of school leaders said they were aware of staff members leaving the teaching profession for reasons other than retirement, according to an NAHT poll of its members.
The top reasons given for people leaving was workload followed by wanting a better work-life balance.
More than three-fifths (63%) of those polled said they had had difficulty recruiting for vacant posts, while 18% said they had failed to recruit.
Nick Brook, NAHT deputy general secretary, said: “Despite four years of warnings by NAHT the recruitment crisis continues.” Reporter A Tyneside school dinner chef will be showing off his best work at a nationwide competition after a triumph in regional heats – but says the kids he works with are the best judges in the business.
Abdul Mahdoul, who works at Walbottle Campus in Newcastle, has made it through to the national School Chef of the Year final next year after he was crowned champion chef for the North East and Scotland at a regional competition on Wednesday.
Born in Casablanca in Morocco, Abdul has made the North East his home for almost three decades, and after spells in catering at Fenwick’s and in local hotels, he is now the school’s star chef and is aiming to go one better than his previous regional titles when he competes against nine other regional champions in March.
Cooking against the clock in this week’s competition, Abdul put together a dish of slowbraised beef in a rich tomato and thyme sauce, with cheesy Gruyere potato, wilted spinach and carrots, followed by a panna cotta dessert with mango, pineapple, berries and a shortbread biscuit.
Abdul, 50, said: “I’ve got a passion for food, I’ve been doing it for many years and I’ve been living, breathing and eating it since I was a child. I’ve been here [at the school] now coming up to four years, it was something I’d never done before but I just really enjoy it.
“I’ve won the regional title twice so I’ve been excited to do it again. It’s tough but it’s really exciting, I couldn’t wait to start working on developing a dish for the competition. I’m hoping to go one better this time, I’m pretty confident about it.
“I have a great relationship with the kids, that’s the most important thing because they are the customers. If they don’t like it there must be something wrong and they will say so. They’re good judges and a very honest audience.
“I’ve based this dish on the school food, it’s full of everything the kids needs