SOUTH Tawton Primary schoolchildren had the final say when sampling kitchen assistant Donna Mallet's prize winning recipe in a British Meat competition — Please can I have some more?

Donna scooped first prize in the national competition to create the most innovative dish using sausages and her creation 'Sausage and Pasta Bake' went down a storm when she tested it on the children last week.

Donna beat 300 cooks to win the competition for which she receives a gift to the value of £150 for herself and £150 worth of educational books for the school.

The kitchen assistant who works hand-in-hand with her mother, May Maders, who is kitchen manager, had a sneaky suspicion the recipe would be a hit at the school as it is her children's favourite.

'My sons, Thomas and Callum, who are five and eight, are fussy eaters so I thought it must be okay if they liked it,' she said. 'It is just something I tried one day at home with some left-over sausages.

'My kids like pasta and this was something a bit different so when mum persuaded me to enter the competition I gave this recipe a go.'

The prize-winning entry, which consists of sausages in a tomato, onion and mushroom sauce with pasta and a cheese and breadcrumbs topping, is now set to be a regular feature on the school menu.

The competition, which was organised to coincide with National Sausage Appreciation Week, asked school caterers to create a dish that would appeal to schoolchildren as well as complying with cost constraints and nutritional guidelines set for school meals.

Trade sector manager for British Meat Tony Goodger, who presented Donna with her prize at school, said the level and imagination shown in the competition was outstanding from all entrants.

'The judging panel thought that Donna's dish was the most appealing to schoolchildren,' he said. 'The sausage and pasta bake showed just how versatile sausages are.'

South Tawton Primary School's headteacher Bobby Sutton said: 'This is fantastic news for Donna who works tirelessly trying to come up with imaginative ideas to maintain a varied menu. She deserves the recognition.

'It is also great news for the school — we are delighted with the educational book tokens from British Meat.'

RIGHT: Donna offers up a tempting tablespoonful of her sausage dish

Picture by Ian Snell