Win a canteen makeover for your school
Celebrity Judges
Amanda Holden
Amanda first became a household name as an actress with her starring role in the comedy Kiss Me Kate. She has since gone on to star in numerous hit TV shows, including Wild At Heart, Cutting It and Big Top. She reached a huge new audience when she became a judge on the massively successful Britain's Got Talent.
"As an actress and a mum, healthy eating is a very important part of my life. I think Canteen Rescue is a fantastic idea. School meals are better than ever, so now it's time to make sure you've got somewhere nice to eat them. Canteen Rescue is your chance to give your school dining rooms a complete makeover. What would you change? How can we make them places you want to spend time in? Get creative with your designs and you could win your school a dream canteen! Good luck to everyone taking part!"”"
Sam Stern
Sam Stern is a teenage celebrity chef and author of four cook books: ‘Cooking Up A Storm', 'Real Food, Real Fast', 'Sam Stern's Student Cook Book: Survive in Style on a Budget' and 'Get Cooking'. He is currently working on a fifth book, 'Sam Stern's Eat Vegetarian' and also writes a weekly blog, free recipes and cooking tips.
"As a young chef, I’ve always loved cooking (and eating) and really enjoy sitting down with my friends over a great meal. If you have school meals you get the chance to do this every day. Canteen Rescue is a brilliant idea, it gives you and your mates the chance to have your own canteen redesigned, to make it exactly how you want it to be; a brilliant place to eat and hang out. I will be encouraging my old school to sign up and you should be too. Don’t hold back - get in there and do it!"
Dick & Dom
Actor Richard McCourt and magician Dominic Wood rose to fame on the award winning BBC TV programme Dick and Dom in Da Bungalow. They have since appeared on numerous BBC programmes, hosted their own Radio 1 show, and can currently be seen in The Legend of Dick and Dom.
"We're looking forward to seeing the ideas that kids come up with to improve their canteens. It's really important that kids eat well, and making the canteen a fun place to be will get more kids eating school dinners.”
Dick
Jackie Llewelyn-Bowen
Jackie is Chairman of Llewelyn-Bowen Limited, the design company that she runs with her husband Laurence. Jackie is involved in every stage of the design process for both interiors and the company’s own range of products. Jackie is also a mother of two with a very keen personal interest in healthy eating for herself and her family. Jackie spent most of last year giving interviews about her own healthy weight loss and her tips on nutrition and exercise.
"My own memories of school dinners are positively Dickensian. The hall was noisy, full, uncomfortable and always smelled of cabbage. We sat at trestle tables, expectantly, while some unfortunate girl had the responsibility of serving a table of ten from the portions allotted which were horribly mean. Thank goodness our attitude to feeding children has changed! I’m delighted to be a part of Canteen Makeover, I think shared meals are so important for young people. They reinforce relationships and social responsibility, something that is slipping in our society. We need to teach children to respect the food they are eating and the environment in which they are eating it."
Levi Roots
Musician and Chef Levi Roots famously appeared on the BBC's Dragons Den in January 2007, where he won investment in his Reggae Reggae sauce. Based on his grandmother's jerk chicken sauce, Reggae Reggae was quickly picked up for distribution and is now stocked by all major retailers. In addition to appearances on Ready Steady Cook, This Morning and Market Kitchen and in his own cooking programme, Caribbean Food Made Easy, Levi has released two cook books and also runs a restaurant which provides a daily meal run to a local school.
Levi's success has meant that he has become a spokesperson for both Caribbean cuisine as well as more generally for entrepreneurship amongst the black community. He has visited hundreds of schools to encourage young children to adopt a positive approach and to show that you can succeed from humble beginnings.
"I think it’s really important to have a sociable, happy and healthy atmosphere at any meal time, but especially for children, so they can get inspired about food. Not everyone is lucky enough to have that at home every day, so it’s really important for a school canteen to be somewhere kids can relax and enjoy good food. My school canteen was crowded and noisy - wow that was a long time ago - but I wish we could have entered Canteen Rescue!"
Craig Phillips
Craig Phillips shot to fame in 2000 winning the first series of Big Brother and with it the hearts of a nation. He donated his entire £70,000 winnings to his Downs Syndrome friend Joanne Harris before going on to raise a total £250,000 fund for her vital operation.
Prior to this he set up and ran his own highly successful building company for 10 years throughout the 1990s and had started developing his own property portfolio; employing 30 tradesmen and operating a company with an annual turnover of over £1 million. He has since developed the largest independent building skills centre in the North West (now part of the National Construction Academy) in addition to raising over £500,000 for charities, many of which he is an ambassador or patron of.
To date he has appeared on over 850 DIY and construction television shows for all the major UK broadcasters. You can currently see him in on ITV1’s 60 Minute Makeover. For more on Craig visit www.craigphillips.co.uk
"I'm excited to be involved with this campaign and I'm sure there will be some great ideas flooding in from great young minds in schools all over the country, to transform their canteens and make them more cool for kids. The cooler the canteen, the more kids will want to go there to eat their school dinners – I think it's really important that kids feel comfortable in their school environments to learn, play and eat meals. I am sure the building team will have fun in working with the winning schools to create some great canteen areas and I would encourage all kids to take time out from their day to eat a school dinner."
Brian Turner
Brian Turner is one of the UK’s most well-loved celebrity chefs, appearing regularly on Ready Steady Cook, Daily Cooks Challenge, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and This Morning. Brian has opened a number of successful restaurants around the country, and in 2002 was awarded a CBE for services to tourism and training in the catering industry.
"As a chef I know that creating the right atmosphere for customers is just as important as the food; so I think Canteen Rescue is a great idea. I wouldn't expect to eat somewhere messy or crowded or noisy and enjoy the experience, so we shouldn't expect children to either.
Our children are the future of this nation so lets make them feel loved when they eat and love eating! I'm really looking forward to seeing what ideas schools come up with to get children excited about food."
