School Food Revolution Takes Root Across Wales

Held at Orchard Kitchen near Monmouth, “Nourishing Futures: Celebrating School Food in Monmouthshire” brought together chefs, council partners and food champions from across Wales. A graduation and a kick-off rolled into one celebration, and a sign of just how much momentum is building.

Cooking, tasting, celebrating

Guests sampled dishes prepared by Monmouthshire’s own school catering teams, including pea guacamole, rainbow slaw, and a Mexican-style tomato, rice and bean dish – evidence of the fresh, from-scratch cooking that we believe can build upon the great work already happening across the county’s (and country’s) school kitchens.

Award-winning chefs Sam Evans and Shauna Guinn of Hang Fire BBQ ran an open-fire cooking demonstration: a highlight of the day. A live bread-making demonstration, using a pizza oven and fresh dough added a fun flourish for guests.

What the programme is building

Through our School Chef Educator programme, Monmouthshire’s school chefs are developing practical skills that will enable them to use more fresh, local ingredients, cut food waste, and create nutritious meals that get children genuinely excited about the food on their plates.

Cllr Sara Burch, Monmouthshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Housing and Tourism, said the council’s catering teams are at the heart of every primary school, and that programmes like this build the skills and confidence of catering teams to cook from scratch using fresh, seasonal, and locally sourced food.

Chief Executive of Chefs in Schools Naomi Duncan said Monmouthshire had done something genuinely rare by putting its catering teams at the centre of its ambitions for children, noting that the county’s chefs haven’t just completed a training programme, they have changed what school food looks and tastes like for thousands of children across the county.

A full-circle moment

The event was organised by Helen Cottle, Monmouthshire County Council’s corporate catering manager. Years earlier, before moving into local government, Helen was head chef at Gainsborough Primary, one of the very first schools Chefs in Schools ever worked with, and part of the LEAP Federation under executive head Louise Nichols, a Chefs in Schools co-founder.

That connection wasn’t lost on the day. Chefs in Schools Chief Executive Naomi Duncan and Helen spoke at length about it during the celebration, a reminder that this work often comes full circle: someone who once cooked in a kitchen shaped by our charity’s work in its earliest days is now the person leading a countywide transformation in school food for thousands of children.

Looking ahead

With 15 new chefs now starting their own journey through the programme, Monmouthshire’s food transformation is far from finished. As one cohort graduates, the next begins: proof that when school catering teams are invested in, the impact reaches far beyond the school kitchen.

Find out more about our School Chef Educator programme and any upcoming cohorts to be a part of.