THE man behind the dinners at a York private school has scooped a top national award.

James Goodwin, 37, the chef manager at The Mount in Dalton Terrace won the accolade of Independent School Caterer of the Year at the annual EDUcatering Awards at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington.

Now in its fifth year, the annual awards recognise outstanding individuals who have excelled within the school meals sector.

Graeme Oliver, bursar at The Mount School, said: “We are delighted but not surprised that James has won this accolade. For the past four years The Mount has enjoyed working with Wilson Vale management catering which is a company at the very top of their game.”

Principal Julie Lodrick,said: “James and his team have worked incredibly hard to provide the school community with an extremely high standard of food. This sounds much simpler than it is. In a busy school, we have many and varied nutritional needs, food intolerances and levels of allergies. James and his team provide outstanding catering to our entire spectrum of nutritional needs."

Students supported James’ nomination. Six former, Celia Wood, said: “I think that eating at school is like eating at a restaurant: there are so many choices, every single one of which is always delicious. The chefs are so inventive and the menus are so creative: we always have something different every week, all of which you could find on a restaurant menu. However, there are always many healthy options and I think that it is fantastic how they make such an effort to incorporate seasonal ingredients."

James said: “To win this title is the greatest vote of confidence I could wish for, not just for myself but for my team who work so hard to make things happen at The Mount.

“I get great support from Chris Kirk, my head chef. His knowledge and experience is second to none and he works well with the rest of the staff and helps to train two or three chefs on a day-to-day basis." The awards are hosted by EDUcatering magazine.