Traditional Italian staples, vegetarian and Japanese dishes, and classic British favourites are just some of the tuckshop treats vying for the top gong in the Queensland Association of School Tuckshops’ annual Recipe of the Year contest.
The competition is supported by Health and Wellbeing Queensland and delivered by the Queensland Association of School Tuckshops (QAST) – and for the past four years, it’s celebrated the delicious work being done in school tuckshops. Shining a light on the hard-working volunteers who help feed thousands of hungry children in school tuckshops across the state is another core ingredient of the competition’s purpose.
QAST CEO Deanne Wooden says the Recipe of the Year competition attracts entrants from a diverse range of tuckshops across metropolitan, regional, rural and remote schools.
“It was amazing to see some truly innovative tuckshop meals that are both nutritious and hearty, but not breaking the bank for hard-working parents,” Wooden says.
“From variations on the popular burrito bowl, to classics like the humble cottage pie and quiche – it was great to see old favourites make a comeback, and veggies featuring as the hero.
“With the cost of food rising and tuckshops doing it tougher than ever, affordability was a key criterion this year, making it an incredibly tough task for our judges to narrow down this year’s finalists.”
To select the five short-listed finalists, nutrition experts assessed all entrants’ recipes against the Smart Choices guidelines, before determining their suitability for school tuckshops.
The final five recipes will then be prepared and presented to a panel of judges (including industry representatives and school students) who will taste and score the recipes to determine the winner.
2024 finalists:
- Creamy Vegetable Pasta – Bay View State School (Thornlands)
- Crustless Cottage Pie – Ipswich State High School (Ipswich)
- Fish Burrito Bowl – Tannum Sands State School (Tannum Sands)
- Pasta Bolognese – Kalkie State School (Bundaberg)
- Quiche Slice with Salad – Currumbin State School (Currumbin, Gold Coast)
- Teriyaki Chicken, Rice and Salad Bowl – Musgrave Hill State School (Southport, Gold Coast)
The winner of the 2024 Recipe of the Year will be announced on Thursday, 5 September after the judging and final deliberations on Wednesday, 28 August.
Healthy, diverse food options
Health and Wellbeing Queensland Chief Executive, Dr Robyn Littlewood, says she was impressed with the quality of entries, as well as the diversity of healthy options tuckshops continue to offer Queensland students.
“We know many families rely on the tuckshop to provide nutritious, affordable and convenient food and drink choices for their children,” says Littlewood.
“This competition continues to show that tuckshop meals can be not only healthy and delicious, but the type of food that kids, and parents, can get excited about.”
