Congratulations to Moises Catalan of Olive Dining, crowned champion of the 2026 Grab ‘N’ Go Challenge after a live cook-off against two fellow school chefs at the School Food Show & Forum, held in July at the Hilton Metropole in Birmingham. His winning creation, Chilean sopaipillas served in a spice box with curry sauce, added a Chinese twist to a Chilean street food classic that judges felt would appeal to students.
What is the Grab ‘N’ Go Challenge?
Run by The School Food People and sponsored by SchoolGrid, the Challenge invites kitchen-based chefs to demonstrate their skills against a brief familiar to anyone in school catering: a nutritious savoury snack that students can eat on the move, prepared as four portions in 40 minutes for no more than 85p a head. Entry is limited to those who cook students’ meals every day, so managers, area managers, training managers and development chefs are excluded.
Meet the finalists
Submissions were judged on paper first, before the shortlisted chefs cooked live at the Rational Development Kitchen in Luton on 19 May, where judges spent almost two hours selecting three finalists. Asmaa Abdelrhman of Impact Food Group replaced the usual tortilla with a homemade crepe for a spicy chicken wrap with stir fried vegetables, while Nerinder Kaur of Sodexo, a finalist for the second consecutive year, served Ninz’s Twisted Tikka Noodles, featuring homemade knife cut noodles in a tikka sauce. All three went forward to the final round in Birmingham in July.
A Chilean classic with a Chinese twist
Sopaipillas are a traditional Chilean street food. Moises’s Chinese twist paid tribute to his father’s Hong Kong heritage, bringing a personal touch into UK school kitchens. Chair of judges Holly Charnock, herself a former School Chef of the Year, praised how he wove a childhood family favourite into a school setting, calling the dish bright, colourful and exactly the sort of thing pupils would enjoy. She added that the dedication and passion of all three finalists was evident in their cooking. “I am over the moon, I literally can’t believe it,” said Moises, who was quick to congratulate his fellow finalists on a strong contest.
What makes great grab and go food
SchoolGrid chief executive and founder Dugald Curtis said the Challenge remains a personal favourite because it gives chefs a genuine platform to showcase their innovation and flair in creating a grab and go dish that looks appealing and tastes good. Its strict limits on time, cost, specification and hygiene, he explained, leave plenty of room for creative thinking. In his view, the best grab and go food is easy to eat one handed, looks inviting and tastes good enough that pupils come back for more. Adam Curtis joined Lin O’Brien MBE of SchoolGrid, Holly Charnock and 2025 winner Andre Alto on the judging panel, scoring each dish on taste, originality, ease of eating on the move, practicality for a school setting, how well the flavours and ingredients worked together, variety of texture and visual appeal.
Prizes and past champions
Moises took home £500 in cash and a further £500 set of Wüsthof professional chef’s knives, donated by SchoolGrid. He also earned a demonstration slot on School Food Live in Hall One on Wednesday 8 July, showing delegates and visitors how his winning dish comes together. Nerinder Kaur and Asmaa Abdelrhman finished as runners-up. Moises now joins previous Grab ‘N’ Go champions Jody Iske, Angela McCurry and Andre Alto.
Congratulations to all our finalists
Congratulations to all three finalists on a brilliant day. Sponsoring the Grab ‘N’ Go Challenge is one of the many ways SchoolGrid supports the people who make school meals happen every day.
Watch out for details of the 2027 Grab ‘N’ Go Challenge!
