Eleanor Geddes is congratulated by Cllr Maitland

East Ayrshire Catering Manager wins food for life challenge

Eleanor Geddes, Catering Manager at Shortlees Primary, has won first prize/ best in class at ScotHot’s Food For Life challenge at the SEC in Glasgow.

ScotHot, which is in its 50th year, is Scotland’s premier showcase for food, drink, hospitality, retail and tourism, providing the opportunity to network, share ideas and learn about the latest trends. The showcase is a mix of speakers, exhibitions, live demonstrations and the Scottish culinary championships.

Eleanor was participating in the very competitive Food For Life challenge and had to design and prepare a main course telling the story of Food For Life, highlighting the sustainability of all products used. Her dish, Bean-Fishing - a homemade flat bread with a tomato and bean stew topped with haddock fingers coated in organic breadcrumbs; beat some exceptional entries to win first place.

Councillor Clare Maitland, Spokesperson for Planning, Human Resources and Property said: “What a fantastic achievement for Eleanor, Shortlees Primary and the whole Catering Service team. The name of the dish was worthy of a prize alone!

“East Ayrshire Council is the longest-standing Food for Life Served Here Gold award holder in the UK, serving thousands of Food for Life accredited meals a day. Our approach to both the provision of organic food and Community Wealth Building means that we are committed to continuing to work with local businesses to support the local economy and to reduce our carbon footprint by continuing to source fresh local produce.

“As a Council, we are very proud of the Catering Services team. They are rightly recognised as sector leaders and we are delighted to celebrate achievements.”