HALWILL Primary School’s cook was recently shortlisted into the finals of a prestigious, national recipe competition.

Halwill’s school cook, Mary Lillis, was one of five finalists that got through to the Simply One Pot Meal Recipe Competition, based in Worcester.

Her recipe, ‘Coley and Vegetable Hotpot’, was chosen from entries from all over the country.

Mary, who works for Devon Norse, said she was ‘delighted’ to reach the final.

“It was a wonderful experience; the competition was sponsored by McCain Food Service, and the recipe had to include one McCain item.”

Mrs Chris Dey, headteacher at Halwill, said: “We are delighted that Mary’s talents have been recognised in this competition. The children at our school enjoy her cooking on a regular basis and we are lucky that we are able to have such a talented cook at our school. A huge well done to Mary from us all at the Carey Federation.”