Apart from some of the presentation the standard of the meals could compete with any restaurant chef

Steven Saunders, chef

Pauline Gati, who is a cook at Cubitt Town primary school in East London, was delighted with the award.

"I think I'll have a party when I get back to school," she said.

"We do have some teachers who have dinner with us but I hope they will all come to meals now."

Mrs Gati says she feels a duty to prepare wholesome meals, because many children at her school do not have a cooked meal at home.

"It is important to make sure that we make a meal as balanced as possible - that is my main aim," she said.

The judges said the winning entry was "very nutritionally balanced, very tasty and innovative".

Standards

Chef Steven Saunders, who has appeared on the BBC's cookery show Ready Steady Cook, said the quality of the cooking was excellent.

The winning meal

"Apart from some of the presentation the standard of the meals could compete with any restaurant chef, there is no doubt about that.

He said the competition might encourage school cooks to be more adventurous.

"It's important to encourage school cooks to strive for something different otherwise meals can become a bit mundane.

"It also raises the standard across the country - our kids need to be eating healthily, and where they can, fresh food."

Organic

He called for the government to increase subsidies so that school meals could be made form organic produce.

The competition was organised by the Local Authority Caterers Association.

Head of the group Beverley Baker said school meals had become much more varied in the past two decades.

"Children travel abroad and eat out a lot more than they did 20 or 30 years ago.

"They are exposed to a lot of tastes and flavours from an early age."

For her prize, Pauline Gati won a day working at Steven Saunders's Cambridgeshire restaurant, plus a meal and accommodation there for her and her husband.