The Judges
Jamie Oliver
Chef, cookbook writer and food campaigner who has encouraged millions of people to enjoy cooking fresh, delicious food from scratch over his 20-year+ career.
Mary Berry
Legendary food writer, chef, baker and television presenter, who has decades of culinary expertise under her belt.
Joe Wicks
The fitness coach, TV presenter and social media star is on a mission to make the world fitter, healthier and happier.
Ella Toone
An MBE‑honoured England Lioness renowned for scoring in the Euro 2022 final and helping the Lionesses win back‑to‑back European titles. She is also the only England player to have scored in a quarter-final, semi-final and final of a major international tournament. Off the pitch she runs her ET7 academy and presents her podcast ‘Ella & Friends’.
Reon and Reme
With over 1 million followers, this high-energy sibling duo have captivated social media audiences with their playful pranks and quick-witted banter. Reon brings humour and charisma, while his sister Reme shines with her bold and confident personality.
Dani Dyer
With over 5 million followers, Dani is one of the UK’s most relatable young stars, balancing a prolific career and life as a dedicated mum of three to fronting documentaries as well as her hugely popular podcast, ‘Live and Let Dyers’.
Sam Holland
A London-born chef and content creator with over 1.4 million followers across socials, Sam is all about making cooking fun, easy, and for everyone – a passion showcased in his debut 2025 cookbook, Kitchen Kickstart.
Montell Douglas
AKA Gladiator’s ‘Fire’ made British history by becoming the first female Double Summer & Winter Olympian competing in Athletics & Bobsleigh. Montell is an active advocate for young people, encouraging resilience, confidence & the pursuit of big dreams.
Joe Swash
TV presenter Joe Swash is a passionate home cook and co-host of Channel 4 food show Batch from Scratch. A Celebrity MasterChef finalist, he is also the author of Sunday Times bestseller Joe’s Kitchen: Homemade Meals for a Happy Family.
Zack George
AKA ‘Steel’ from The Gladiators, Zack is one of the UK’s most decorated and well-known professional CrossFit athletes. In 2024 Zack started the Award winning fitness programme ‘Zactiv’, a workshop he delivers to around 5000 kids a month.
Big Has
This Fifteen graduate has gone on to have his own culinary success on social media and TV and is also a Sunday Times best selling author.
George Webster
The BAFTA-winning CBeebies presenter, actor and author has Down’s Syndrome, and wants to show the world that people with a learning disability can dream big and be very employable.
Lina Nielsen
British sprinter and hurdler Lina is an Olympic medallist, and health and wellness advocate living with MS. She’s also a yoga teacher and passionate chef, who is currently working on her debut cookbook.
AND WE HAVE AN EXPERT PANEL OF ADVISERS…
We’re very proud to have some of the most amazing experts in the business helping us to shortlist these awards. School food is their bread and butter and they know exactly what to look for.
Stephanie Slater MBE, Chair of Good School Food Awards
As Founder and Chief Executive of School Food Matters, we’ve been working alongside Stephanie for 15 years and are constantly inspired by her enthusiasm, creativity and depth of knowledge.
Nicole Pisani
Nicole Pisani was head chef at top London restaurant Nopi, but now you’ll find her in a school kitchen. Read more… She co-founded Chefs in Schools to replicate this recipe for success. We’re so glad she’s using her talents to feed kids well. Show less
Henry Dimbleby
Henry co-authored The School Food Plan in 2014, a blueprint for government to transform what children eat in schools and how they learn about food. In 2021, he authored The National Food Strategy. Read more… He also co-founded Leon, the restaurant chain, the charity Chefs in Schools and recently Bramble Partners, which invests in and advises businesses that are creating a sustainable food system. Show less
Kemi Akinola
Kemi is a trustee, governor, director, and Deputy Leader for Wandsworth Council. Her work with Be Enriched and Brixton People’s Kitchen takes local action to the next level – she’s truly inspiring!
Ben Cooper
Ben is Head of Children and Young People at London Marathon Events, leading the TCS Mini London Marathon and partnerships with the NBA, junior parkrun and The Daily Mile Foundation. Read more… A former teacher, he’s passionate about helping children stay active and healthy. Show less
D’Arcy Williams
Global child health & food systems expert and former UNICEF diplomat, D’Arcy Williams is the CEO of Bite Back and a fierce champion of youth-led advocacy to reshape our food system.
Jo Ralling
A true campaigner and advocate for young people, school food, free school meals, child health and so much more. Jo is the driving force behind some of the most important public health, environmental, and social advocacy efforts in the UK Read more… including the END CHILD FOOD POVERTY campaign, FEED THE FUTURE and EAT THEM TO DEFEAT THEM. Show less
Steve Chalke MBE
Steve founded the Oasis Trust, which provides housing, education and healthcare, among other things, for those affected by inequality. He is now working with the Ministry of Justice to create the UK’s first Secure School.
Dr Nikita Kanani MBE
Dr Nikita is a trailblazing NHS leader, GP and Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Aneira Health, where she drives transformative care in women’s health. Read more… With over two decades of experience, including leading the NHS Covid Vaccination Programme, she’s passionate about reducing health inequalities and advocating for inclusion. Show less
Lee Connelly
Lee is the UK’s leading children’s gardening educator. His commitment to teaching the next generation of green thumbs saw him set up School Gardening Success, which is dedicated to bringing horticulture into primary schools.
Brad Pearce
Brad runs CATERed, a school food cooperative that provides fresh, hot lunches to 65 schools across Plymouth and the surrounding area. He’s also the National Chair for LACA – the school food people, which serves around 3 million lunches in 27,000 schools every day!
Myles Bremner
Myles heads up Bremner & Co, a company that works with international and local governments, not-for-profit and charitable organisations, academics and schools, all with the aim of making our food system fairer and better. Read more… He’s the oracle of school food. There isn’t a single fact or figure that he doesn’t know – we’ve tested him, a lot, and he hasn’t cracked yet! Show less
Jenny Elms
Jenny has more than 30 years’ experience in food education. She worked as a food teacher for 20 years, and creates brilliant resources to inspire young people with a love of cooking.
Chris Wright
Chris is Head of Health and Wellbeing at the Youth Sport Trust where he leads on strategic partnerships and tailored interventions dealing with physical inactivity and health inequalities. Read more… Chris has also led physical activity evidence reviews and taskforces and currently leads on the design and implementation of the Well School Movement. Show less
Leigh Powell
Leigh is UNISON’s national officer for education/further education, representing the views of thousands of catering workers in schools and colleges who are in negotiations with their employers and the government.
Martin Canavan
Martin has worked in the third sector in Scotland for more than 15 years. He joined Aberlour Children’s Charity in 2014, leading its political engagement, influencing and campaigning work Read more… to tackle child poverty, disadvantage and discrimination. He represents Aberlour as a member of the End Child Poverty coalition. Show less
June O’Sullivan OBE
June is a pioneering social business leader, who is renowned for transforming the London Early Years Foundation (LEYF) into the UK’s largest social enterprise nursery group. She’s on a mission to make society a better and more sustainable place for all children and families.
Beth Bradshaw
Beth is a Registered Associate Nutritionist (Association for Nutrition) and the Policy and Advocacy Lead at the Obesity Health Alliance. Her work focuses on influencing government policy so that children can more easily access healthier food – wherever they live, learn, or play. Read more… She also works with schools in the North West to help make their environments a healthier place for pupils, staff and parents. Show less
Sophie Pritchard
Sophie, Head of Delivery in the Healthy & Sustainable Food team at Soil Association, is a passionate advocate for sustainable food systems. Read more… With a strong background in food business management, she’s dedicated her career to promoting ethical, environmentally responsible and health-conscious catering practices. Show less
Clare Robinson
Headteacher Clare makes sure that good food and activity are at the heart of everything at her school. From growing vegetables and cooking with them to yoga breaks and forest school, the students at Clare’s school learn how to fuel their bodies, calm their minds and connect with their community.
Colleen Green
Winner of our first ever Lifetime Achievement award, Colleen has dedicated her life to supporting children at Beacon Primary School. She first attended the school at the age of three as a pupil, then she returned as a dinner lady, before becoming a teacher, and now she’s Assistant Head, where she’s set up her very own food curriculum from scratch.
Alex Moody
Chef Alex Moody is a shining example of how powerful food can be in creating incredible connections and bringing people together – from cooking brilliant meals at a busy secondary school to providing healthy, wholesome, warming meals for any family that would go without, week in, week out and even on Christmas Day.
Nathan Scarlett
Chef Nathan loves sharing his passion for food as much as he loves cooking. Nathan gave up a career in Michelin-starred London restaurants and top private catering to become a school cook at Henry Cavendish School where he has transformed the food served as well as the whole schools’ food culture.
Sara Randle
Sara Randle is a food teacher with over 25 years of experience, enriching classrooms and creating meaningful opportunities beyond school for the children she teaches, while supporting her community through a passionate, student-centred approach to education.
Fiona Paterson
Fiona is UK & Ireland Partnerships Manager at The Daily Mile Foundation, working with schools and partners to create opportunities for daily physical activity, supporting healthier habits for children to improve their physical health and mental wellbeing.
Marc Thompson
Marc Thompson is the Headteacher at Mandeville Primary School, part of the LEAP federation in Hackney, East London. Marc is passionate about ensuring all children have access to free, high quality, nourishing school meals and is committed to embedding sustainable food education in the curriculum.
THE YOUTH BOARD
At the end of the day, these awards are all about the kids – so of course we need some young people on our judging panel! We’re beyond excited to introduce these wonderful students from schools across the country. They might just be the toughest critics we have…
ASSET ARROWS, SUFFOLK
These brilliant youngsters were winners of our 2025 School Food Leader Category
SIR WILLIAM STANIER SCHOOL, CREWE
Toby and Jake, Food ambassadors at Sir William Stanier School in Crewe
ST JOHN THE BAPTIST SCHOOL, SPALDING
9 year old Jackson and 10 year old Anya
BEACON PRIMARY SCHOOL, WALSALL
11 year old Elias and 9 (and a half) year old Mabel
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