Dinnerlady Tracy is top school chef

A DINNER lady from Dewsbury has been crowned as the country’s best.

Tracy Healy was named the School Chef of the Year in a prestigious ceremony on Thursday night.

Tracy, who cooks for 280 pupils at Ravensthorpe Junior School, went head to head with nine other finalists from across the country at the final at Stratford-upon-Avon College, beating off competition and wowing the judges with her culinary creations.

Contestants had to create a healthy, two-course meal fit for year six-aged pupils, with Tracy whipping up lamb kofta and tomato skewers with flatbreads and a rhubarb ginger crunch fool.

Tracy said: “I created a menu to reflect the diversity of the school I work in and the food we serve as well as local produce. Being so close to the rhubarb triangle I thought it only right that I include rhubarb in the dessert.

“I have no formal training in the catering industry, all the training that I’ve had has been through Kirklees Council.

“I love my job, and the satisfaction of knowing that we put a well-balanced freshly cooked meal on children’s plates.”

Clr Graham Turner, the council’s Cabinet member for resources, said: “I’m very proud. The service prides itself on having great staff, and this showcases just how good they are.” School chef of the year Tracy Healy at work in the kitchen at Ravensthorpe Junior School, and left, as School Chef of the Year 2017 with her award and winning dishes of lamb kofta kebab served with coconut rice, mint slaw and potato flat bread and a dessert of creamy rhubarb fool served with a ginger crunch