YOUNGSTERS in North Yorkshire are to reap the benefits of a scheme set up to transform the way school cooks develop their skills.

North Yorkshire County Caterers, which provides meals to schools across the county, has become one of only ten centres in England to sign up for the project, designed to ensure school meals are of the highest quality.

York College is also taking part in the scheme.

The North Yorkshire School Feast Partnership, which is being established by the School Food Trust will train scores of kitchen staff for hundreds of schools throughout the county, to help ensure more children and young people eat a healthy lunch every day.

It is envisaged that the scheme could be rolled out to other areas of the country, if it is a success.

North Yorkshire County Caterers and York College are offering a range of courses for schools in the area, covering subjects such as food preparation and cooking, food safety and kitchen management.

The training will also help school cooks meet recently-introduced nutritional standards, which are being phased into place in schools across England.

Prue Leith, chairwoman of the School Food Trust, said: "School cooks are the unsung heroes – they are responsible for feeding millions of children every day and play a key role in the health and well-being of the future generation of adults.

"So I am delighted that North Yorkshire County Caterers and York College are leading the way in nurturing the school cooks of the future."

Councillor John Watson, the county council’s executive member for children and young people's services said: "We are delighted to have been appointed as a Feast centre.

"Our adult learning service is well-placed to work alongside York College in delivering nationally recognised qualifications to our school food workforce, which produces good meals using locally-sourced food."

Keith Tillbrook, general manager of North Yorkshire County Caterers, said: "The Feast partnership is a model collaboration, set up to further enhance the skills of those already working in our schools.

"These people are responsible for quality catering and healthy eating practices in schools.

"We are delighted to be invited to play an influential role in promoting higher standards in this sector."

All centres in the Feast network will provide a range of training and development opportunities for staff.

For more information, visit schoolfeast.co.uk