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.
Josie Gibson
Josie joined the This Morning family in 2019, and regularly entertains viewers with her warm, witty approach. She’s interviewed a whole host of celeb guests, including Cher and Stanley Tucci, and loves to share her thoughts on topics that mean most to her, including body positivity.
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.
Big Has
This Fifteen graduate has gone on to have his own culinary success on YouTube and released his book Big Has Home in 2022.
Montell Douglas
AKA Gladiator’s Star ‘Fire’ made British history by becoming the first ever female Double Summer and Winter Olympian competing in Athletics and Bobsleigh. Montell is an active advocate for children and young people, encouraging resilience, confidence, and the pursuit of big dreams, no matter the odds.
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, touring schools up and down the country to help educate and inspire our next generation.
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, 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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
Brad Pearce
Brad runs CATERed, a school food cooperative that provides fresh, hot lunches to 70 schools across Plymouth and the surrounding area. He’s also the National Vice Chair Elect for LACA, the school food people, which serves around 3 million lunches in 27,000 schools every day!
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
Dr Katie Palmer Heathman
Katie is lead editor of GovernorHub Knowledge, a training and advice service. She’s on a mission to give school governors and academy trustees the support and knowledge they need to hold their head teachers and leaders accountable, including making sure that school dinners are the best they can be for pupils.
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.
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
Kay Batkin
As Network Director at the Youth Sport Trust, Kay champions lifelong physical activity for all young people. Through her leadership, she emphasises the charity’s values of physical health in wellbeing and education’s role in equipping youth, drawing from her childhood enriched by sport and play.
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 to tackle child poverty, disadvantage and discrimination. He represents Aberlour as a member of the End Child Poverty coalition.
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 with the Association for Nutrition, and is the Food Active Policy Advocacy Manager at the Health Equalities Group, a public health charity. 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
Joanne McCartney
Joanne is Deputy Mayor of London for Children and Families. She delivers programmes to support children and young people across the city, including improving their health and well-being. She also led the Mayor’s universal free school meals programme.
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
THE YOUTH BOARD
At the end of the day, these awards are all about the kids – so of course we wanted some young people to join our expert panel this year! We’ll be announcing our 2026 youth panellists shortly. They might just be our toughest critics yet…
Madie, Stoke
Madie won our 2024 Youth Activist Of The Year
Ingol Primary School Students, Preston
Malek, Lilly, Bryan, William and Ayo
King Edmund School Students, Essex
Oliver, Hailey and Cassie
Pokesdown Community Primary Students, Bournemouth
Dahlia and Woody
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