ATHERTON'S Michelle Whittle cooked up a storm when she taught fellow North West school chefs a lesson they won't forget.

The head cook at Meadowbank County Primary School in Atherton, gave competitors food for thought as she scooped the title of North West Cook of the Year.

Condemning the dreaded old school dinners as a thing of the past, Michelle cooked up a winning menu which consisted of: pancakes with curried beef filling; timbale of lemon butter rice; stir-fried carrots with sesame seeds; batons of courgettes; and for dessert strawberry and kiwi fruit choux buns.

Michelle was entered for the regional finals of the Cook of the Year Competition by Wigan Council's School Meals service.

The annual contest is run by the Local Authority Catering Association in conjunction with the Meat and Livestock Commission, and the 'cook-off' was held at Stoke-on-Trent Catering College.

Michelle had to prepare a meal, according to strict rules, in competition with school cooks from Manchester, Liverpool, Salford and Cheshire.

She now goes on into the national cook-off against regional winners from the rest of the country, due to be held in Milton Keynes in November.

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