The School Food People Grab ‘n’ Go Challenge, sponsored by SchoolGrid, is one of the most exciting fixtures in the school catering calendar, driving chefs to create innovative, nutritious, and portable dishes that students will love. To kick off this year’s competition, we sat down with 2025 winner Andre Alto to learn the secrets behind his success and why he believes every chef should give it a go.
Can you tell us a bit about what originally motivated you to enter the Grab ‘n’ Go competition?
Andre: “I’d only been with OCS for less than a year, and my area manager, Rob Cass, who was the manager of the previous National School Chef of the Year winner, Jenny Brown, said, ‘Are you interested in entering?’ I just thought, you know what? I might as well. It’s an experience that I’ll never be able to get back.”
That was my first attempt [2024]. I managed to get to the cook-off and unfortunately didn’t get through to the final, due to the feedback that it tasted great and the idea was great – it was just the fact that it fell apart.”
What do you think set your 2025 entry apart from the others, and why do you think it caught the judges’ attention?
Andre: “If you look into food competitions in general, especially when they are not so much fine dining, but like grab-and-go or street food, it’s always the same…It’s very rare you’ll see any sort of stuff from where I’m from, the Philippines. I’ve never seen it anywhere.
A lot of it boils down to my mum, who was basically the inspiration for me to become a chef. She was the cook of the family. It was about taking the idea of what I grew up with and trying to fit it into what’s new and what people like. My winning dish is basically a Filipino breakfast, but turned into a burger.”
Since winning the competition, how has it impacted you personally or professionally?
Andre: “It’s kept me busy. I’m being asked to do stuff like this, I’m even getting phone calls from a catering magazine to do a phone interview, and just in general, doing talks and stuff. It’s not just impacted me, but I’ve met chefs on training courses that have been like, ‘I want to do competitions now,’ because I’m telling them it’s not as daunting as you’re expecting it to be. It’s inspired me to inspire others.
I’m not a very confident person. A lot of it boils down to my manager, Rob Cass, for being the inspiration for me to do all this. He pushed me to do these things and encouraged me and said that I can do what I’m doing, and I am capable of doing it.”
What was the most valuable lesson you took away from the competition experience – not just the win?
Andre: “My mindset. It’s not always about winning, and I think that’s what a lot of chefs have in general – I think it’s more of an ego thing. I had to take that away and just look at it as an experience and not as a competition that I’m going to beat everybody. Just having that humility. I just wanted to enjoy the night. I didn’t think I was going to win… and then when I got announced the winner, it was like, wow. That feeling is… I still remember it now to this day.”
For anyone thinking about entering the Grab ‘n’ Go competition, what are your top tips for success?
Andre: “Try to be different with your recipe, but not overly. Try to utilise ingredients that are really popular from where you’re from, and incorporate it with something that’s popular here, just to try and catch the eye. Be confident in it. Just enjoy the moment.”
Ready to showcase your culinary talent?
Follow in Andre’s footsteps and bring your unique culinary perspective to the stage. The School Food People and SchoolGrid`s Grab ‘n’ Go Challenge 2026 is your chance to shine. Learn more and enter now at theschoolfoodpeople.co.uk/grab-n-go-challenge. Registration deadline is 27th February.
