A SCHOOL chef awarded the best in Wales is preparing to compete in the UK final.

Jane Jones, cook at Ysgol Twm O’r Nant, won the Wales regional final of the LACA School Chef of the Year 2020 in Newtown last month after serving up chicken wraps and parsnip crisps with a crystal jelly dessert.

The aim of the competition was to make a main course and dessert suitable for a primary school canteen with a budget spend of £1.30 per head.

Mrs Jones, 50, is now one of 10 regional finalists from the likes of the North West, London, East Midlands and Scotland, to qualify for the final in Stratford Upon Avon on March 5.

She said she finds cooking for classes of pupils to be “no different to cooking a Sunday Roast at home” and that she will take the final “in my stride”.

“It takes longer and there are more elements, but saying that you haven’t got a hot plate in your home kitchen,” she said.

“It is what I do every day, so I’ll treat it as just another day.”

The winner gets £1,000 and an invite to a calendar of industry events and experiences.