PUPILS will enjoy a special menu when caterers mark ten years of serving up lunches to schoolchildren.

Bridport catering company Local Food Links (LFL) has cooked up millions of school meals since it was founded in 2006. What began as soup and a roll followed by a slice of cake one day a week at Bridport Primary School has grown into a social enterprise, supplying around 3,000 freshly prepared hot meals every day to 33 schools across the county. The not-for-profit enterprise has four kitchens - in Bridport, Dorchester, Blandford and Shillingstone.

To mark the occasion, pupils will be served roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or homity pie - followed by a birthday cupcake. Each pupil will be given a special edition 10th birthday recipe book containing FLF recipes to take home.

LFL chief executive Caroline Morgan, said: “It has been privilege to play a part in bringing hot school meals back to many Dorset schools over the last 10 years.

"We have developed an innovative and sustainable local model and become an expert in provision for small schools, which has enabled us to contribute to and influence the national approach.”

LFL is also celebrating reaching the South West Regional Finals of the 2017 School Chef of the Year competition for the second time. Cook Tracy Dawson will be competing against six other school cooks and hopes to impress judges with an aromatic beef curry followed by strawberry dream.

Ms Dawson said: “I am very proud and happy to have got through to the South West regional final for the second time and I am very excited about it.

"Last time was very enjoyable and I thoroughly loved the experience of developing my own recipes and seeing them come to life.”

Local Food Links is an independent caterer and a not-for-profit social enterprise. The organisation uses 78 per cent of its ingredients from Dorset suppliers, while 95 per cent is sourced from the South West. For more information, visit localfoodlinks.org.uk