“Mark Sargeant,LACA school food ambassador”
Mark Sargeant, former National Chef of the Year, has been named the LACA school food ambassador.
Having spent 13 years alongside Gordon Ramsay, the chef joins the association of school caterers during a period marked by substantial price increases, staffing challenges, and funding gaps within the sector.
He has assumed the role with immediate effect and will actively participate in the 'Levelling Up School Food' campaign, which is set to hold its flagship event at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole in July.
Anita Brown, national chair of LACA, said: 'Mark is the ideal person to help us raise our profile and to draw more attention to the amazing work being done by the incredible people who work in school food in such difficult times operationally. His deep understanding of what great nutritional food looks like will be both an inspiration to our members and a great support to the sector.'
Sargeant said: 'So many children are eligible for free school meals, meaning they have financial backgrounds which many of us can't even imagine. For some of them this may be the only hot meal they have in the entire day.
'We need to get behind them and petition our government to ensure there is enough funding moving forward to allow schools to give them a healthy, nutritious and delicious two course meal. I have joined the team at LACA to make this happen and get the funding we need in schools to feed our future.'
Sargeant played a pivotal role in the launch of Gordon Ramsay at Claridge's in 2001, where the restaurant earned a Michelin star during his tenure as chef de cuisine. His culinary prowess led to him winning the National Chef of the Year award in 2002.
Last year, he undertook the reopening of Restaurant MS in Folkestone, which had formerly operated as Brasserie MS.
LACA, established in 1990, stands as the foremost professional body within the school food sector.