Poor Vegetable Consumption

Eat Them To Defeat Them was launched in 2019 to tackle one of the major public health issues in the UK – poor vegetable consumption. 80% of children are not eating enough vegetables and, worryingly, a third of kids are eating less than a portion per day.¹ The campaign was designed to inspire kids to eat more veg in school and to continue that behaviour at home. Evaluation data confirms the campaign is changing children’s eating habits with 82% of parents of children who took part stating they ate more vegetables. 

This year’s campaign, returning in early March, is set to benefit 300,000 pupils from 1,000 schools across the UK bringing the total of children who have experienced this award winning campaign to over 1.8 million from 5,000 primary and special schools. This year’s campaign has been sponsored by Sainsbury’s with additional funding from local authorities, school caterers and local vegetable producers. 

Seven prizes will be awarded in total – one each for gold and silver and five available for bronze. The gold winners will receive £1,000 unrestricted school funding, £500 for catering team and a trophy and certificate. Silver will receive £500 unrestricted school funding, £250 for catering team and a trophy and certificate. The five bronze prizes will each win £100 unrestricted school funding and a certificate. The judges will be looking for schools and catering teams working together; a whole school approach including pupil engagement and leadership involvement delivering Eat Them to Defeat Them across the school and wider community. Examples of this include implementing The Great Veg Vote assembly, lunchtime themes or tasting tables, amazing school decorations, parent and carer communication ideas and any novel and unique ideas used to bring the campaign to life.  

In addition, caterers will be invited to submit their best rice and veg recipe to win a special Tilda Challenge prize. To enter the 2026 Eat Them to Defeat Them Schools Challenge, please visit EatThemToDefeatThem.com from 2 March. 

Commenting on this year’s new challenge, Dan Parker, Chief Executive, Veg Power, said

Commenting on this year’s new challenge, Dan Parker, Chief Executive, Veg Power, said, “We’re really excited to launch our new Eat Them to Defeat Them Schools Challenge this year. Following many successful years of the Caterers’ Challenge, we wanted to evolve this awards programme to reflect the importance of the whole school coming together to implement the campaign. A celebration of schools, pupils and caterers working together to improve children’s diets – we know this will have the greatest impact. Thank you once again to Tilda for its support and we can’t wait to see the entries!”

Annette Coggins, Head of Foodservice at Tilda UK said, “We’re incredibly proud to sponsor the new Eat Them to Defeat Them Schools Challenge for 2026. At Tilda, we believe good food habits start really early and Eat Them To Defeat Them shows how the power of Tilda, schools, caterers and pupils can all work together to make vegetables really exciting and more accessible. By championing a whole school approach and celebrating the creativity of catering teams through the Tilda Rice and Veg challenge we hope to inspire even more children to enjoy healthier, more balanced meals and ultimately eat more VEG.”

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Giving chefs and caterers the chance to win big prizes, Tilda Foodservice is rebooting their brilliantly successful Basmati Bonanza. In celebration of Easy Cook Basmati, the chefs’ favourite grain, the rice people have got prizes ranging from unique dining experiences to vouchers up for grabs.

In top spot, one Golden Ticket will hold the key to an overnight stay in London, cocktails at Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala’s Café Spice Namaste in its new location, a 6-course tasting menu with specially selected wine pairings and the opportunity to meet the esteemed chefs.

Along with the star prize, chefs and caterers have the chance to win one of 5x Virtual Cook-Alongs with Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala, 5x Panasonic Rice Cookers, 10x chefs jackets, Tilda aprons and much more!

To win one of 100 prizes in Tilda’s Basmati Bonanza, chefs and caterers are encouraged to look out for the glimmering Golden Ticket hiding in their 5kg or 10kg bags of Easy Cook Basmati and enter the code into the website here  https://www.tilda.com/professionals/blog/news/basmati-bonanza/

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The convenient and microwaveable pouches are now readily available in foodservice to help the growing number of operators who want to provide tasty rice dishes with maximum flavour, but minimum contact.

The range includes the champagne grain, light and fluffy Tilda Pure Basmati Rice; nutty and wholesome Wholegrain Basmati that’s packed with fibre for extra nutrition, as well as spicy Peri Peri Basmati which combines birds eye chili with smokey paprika, and fragrant Coconut Basmati Rice that boasts long, slender grains infused with fresh coconut.

Available now, the new steamed range is perfect for kitchens in need of a speedy and safe rice offering, whilst being the perfect solution for vending machines, food-to-go, room service, or within isolation or education food kits. The 250g packs can be microwaved in just two minutes or stir-fried as part of a recipe – all with minimum handling and no waste.

Best of all, the available range is 100% gluten-free, vegan and made using only natural ingredients and the finest flavours.  Operators and caterers can elevate their plates by offering tasty, nutritious rice dishes in minutes.

Annette Coggins, Head of Foodservice, Tilda UK said of the new Steamed Rice range:

“In a time when hygiene and minimum contact is so important, these pouches are the safest and tastiest rice solution for chefs and caterers to use. The nutritional benefits that come from each grain is astounding and the Steamed Rice Range houses all these fantastic values, as well as the quality and flavour that has made Tilda rice a chef favourite and household name.”

As well as supporting Covid-safe kitchens, the launch of the new Steamed Rice range will mean operators can cater for the growing demand for healthier and plant-based dishes, especially on-the-go. Following the last year’s events, consumers are even more focused on their health and the food they eat. With seven million people in the UK maintaining a vegetarian diet and a further 3.5 million people following a vegan lifestyle*, Tilda’s Steamed Rice range can help caterers offer delicious and nutritious plant-based dishes in a quick, easy and convenient format.

Annette adds:

“Rice is the perfect solution to offer consumers a high-quality and nutritional base for their meals, whether it is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or packed with meat and protein! Our newly available Tilda Steamed Rice range opens up a whole new world of possibility, whilst providing meals that will support general health and well-being, wherever and however they’re being enjoyed.” 

Rice plays an integral role in many cuisines and the newly available Tilda Steamed Range lends itself perfectly to caterers to bring flavourful dishes to their menus. Alongside the new and exciting pouches, Tilda’s Speciality Rice range includes the nutty and aromatic Basmati & Wild, deliciously creamy Arborio Risotto Rice from Po Valley and the naturally fragrant Jasmine Rice. Tilda’s full range and a whole host of inspiring recipes can be seen at www.tildafoodservice.com.

For more information on Tilda visit www.tildafoodservice.com 

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With health and wellbeing taking precedence, the demand for healthier food options is increasing dramatically. Notably, operators are having to ensure a theatre of cleanliness for both customers and staff whilst adapting to reduced menu offerings, providing takeaway options and prepacked solutions.

This helpful toolkit includes in-depth knowledge on impacts to the industry and how operators can adapt to the new normal. With insightful tips such as how to use outdoor space, adapting to contactless payments, utilising delivery and takeaway, managing overheads and offering take-home recipe kits, this toolkit is the perfect guide for operators. To find out for yourself, visit https://www.tilda.com/professionals/article/your-road-to-recovery/

Speaking about the Tilda Toolkit, Annette Coggins, Head of Foodservice, Tilda UK says:

“Now more than ever operators need support. Tilda Foodservice is here to help them adjust to the ‘new norm’. We understand these limitations and that socially distant environments will be challenging for everyone, that is why we have launched a helpful toolkit to guide operators and boost their confidence and business. With customer concerns at an all-time high, operators need to do everything they can to adjust to their needs and the Tilda team is here to help.”

In the toolkit, Tilda Foodservice valuably outlines the specific impacts on our industry and how this has changed the way operators should be thinking about their business. With consumers now prioritising their health and hygiene more than ever, operators need to evolve to fulfil these needs just to survive these difficult times.

Tilda can help operators provide on-trend dishes that offer quality and value for money. Introducing Tilda rice onto menus is the perfect way to supply high quality, healthy and versatile dishes that customers want and love.

Annette continues:

“Rice is the perfect solution to offering consumers a high quality, low cost ingredient. With over fifty years’ expertise and a range endorsed by the Craft Guild of Chefs, we are the ‘go to’ rice for chefs.  Super versatile and with 30% lower GI than standard own label rice, our rice helps to maintain a sustained flow of energy throughout the day. All are gluten free, low in fat and perfect for boosting general health, wellbeing and immunity.”

Tilda also supports The Felix Project, The World Food Program and several Covid-19 related charity initiatives. Tilda continues to support the great work of Mary’s Meals, by donating a meal for every bag of their wholegrain range sold through their ‘Big Meal Giveaway’.

For more information on Tilda visit www.tildafoodservice.com 

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For every bag of Tilda Brown & White rice caterers purchase, a meal will be donated to a child in need.

Mary’s Meals provides life-changing daily meals to impoverished schoolchildren in 15 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, attracting them into the classroom to receive an education, which could be their route out of poverty.

Tilda Foodservice’s new charitable initiative means UK caterers will not only be able to use Brown & White to provide balanced meals for their own pupils, but will also be supporting the valuable work of Mary’s Meals around the world, with Tilda donating 7p from the sale of every 5kg bag of Brown & White.

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Johanna Witchell, commercial marketing manager, and Karen Goff, regional account manager at Tilda, presented the trophies to the chefs alongside Knight Franks’ head chef, Danny Leung –  the Tilda Chef of the Year 2012 winner.

Speaking at the presentation, Jo Witchell for Tilda Foodservice said: “I’d like to congratulate James and Tony on being Tilda’s first Chef Team winners. Every year the Tilda competition gets bigger and more competitive.  Rice is such a versatile ingredient and the dishes these talented chefs delivered on the day were remarkable. We’re delighted to be able to present these trophies personally and look forward to accompanying James and Tony to Italy later in the year.”

As the Tilda Chef Team of the Year, the celebrated chefs won an all-expenses paid trip to Italy to experience Tilda’s Arborio rice harvest in the Po Valley. The pair will also get to sample the regional culinary delights on offer with a food safari in Milan, to learn more about Italian food.

James Garred, head chef at Coca Cola, added: “To have Tilda come to London and present Tony and I with our trophies is really special. We are so excited to have won the competition, I can’t wait for Italy and the opportunity Tilda is giving us to expand our knowledge and sample the country’s rich culture and cuisine.”

Back in March, the chef team battled it out at Hotelympia’s Salon Culinaire Live Theatre by preparing, cooking and presenting a main course and dessert using a Tilda speciality rice variant – all in 45 minutes. Each team was able to choose between Tilda Basmati & Wild or Fragrant Jasmine for the main course and Arborio for dessert.

The Lexington Catering chefs stunned the judges with their winning main course of Tilda Basmati & Wild jewelled saffron rice, spiced halibut and crab with sea vegetables. For dessert, they served up tamarind pineapple with caramelised Tilda Arborio rice ice cream, coconut, pistachio and rice granola.

The winning recipes are available to view at www.tildafoodservice.com.

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The competition, which focuses on the role nutrition can play on healthy bodies and healthy minds, is this year centring its stance on fresh, seasonal produce and the importance of where food comes from.

Available to enter now and open to both primary and secondary schools, a brand new vegetable garden designed by author and presenter of ITV’s Love Your Garden, Frances Tophill, awaits this year’s winner. The prize also includes a fun and engaging Tilda Together Day at the winning school, with a nutritional talk from dietician Dr Sarah Schenker, £500 cash and 25kg of Tilda Brown & White Rice rounds off the prize.

Craig Dillon, head of foodservice, Tilda UK, comments

“With recent research from the British Nutrition Foundation revealing the startling misconceptions children have about where food comes from, ensuring children understand that dinner doesn’t grow on shelves has never been more important. To date, Tilda Together has been a real success story in terms of educating and inspiring youngsters, and I’m thrilled that we’ve got Frances on board this year to boost our campaign and show the positive impact that growing food can have on young people.”

Frances Tophill adds: “When I visit schools that have a veg garden, however big or small, the kids just love it. It’s a great opportunity for kids and young adults to try something they’ve never done before and show them how easy it is to grow their own food.”

The prize also includes local PR for the winner organised by Tilda, helping to raise awareness of the event in the community and demonstrate that healthier eating and nutritional education is a priority for the school. What’s more, every school that enters will receive a free 1kg bag of Tilda Brown & White plus a Tilda Together Recipe Book created by highly acclaimed LACA School Chef of the Year 2015, Kate Davies, helping school caterers deliver great tasting dishes with Genuine Goodness.

To enter the competition, all schools need do is visit www.tildatogether.com by March 29 to explain in 80 words or less why they would like to win this fantastic prize.

The competition is part of Tilda’s commitment to work together with local authorities and school caterers in bringing healthy, balanced recipes that are easy to prepare to the dining hall. It also builds on independent research by Tilda which shows 90% of parents would like to see more education around health and nutrition in schools from an earlier age, while over four in five parents would like to see more rice dishes on menus for their children. A further 65% of parents feel it’s important their child has wholegrains, such as brown rice, in their diet.
For more information on rice and health, plus some great tasting recipes made using the Tilda rice range, visit www.Tildafoodservice.com.

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Celebrating talented chef pairings, the competition will see ten pairs of chefs battle it out to become Tilda Chef Team of the Year and win an exciting two-day trip to the Po Valley in Italy. Teams can enter online now via the Hotelympia website: www.hotelympia.com/salon-culinaire.

Run in conjunction with the Craft Guild of Chefs, this competition is for teams of two chefs, who will be given 45 minutes to prepare, cook and present a main course dish and dessert using Tilda’s speciality rice as the base ingredient in both recipes. Teams can choose between Tilda Basmati & Wild or Fragrant Jasmine for the main course and Arborio for the dessert.

Craig Dillon, head of foodservice, Tilda UK, says: “The wealth of talent on display at Salon Culinaire never ceases to amaze me and I’m certain that 2018 will be no different. The versatility of rice means chefs can use it in a whole manner of ways and I am looking forward to seeing how the chefs incorporate it into their dishes this year.

In addition to the fantastic culinary trip to Italy, the winning pair will also receive the Tilda Chef Team of the Year trophy, plus the top three teams will get a glimpse into the stringent standards that are taken to remove any broken grains at Tilda’s rice mill in Rainham. Salon Culinaire medals, commemorative plates and framed certificates will also be awarded.

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Rice is the mainstay of food for over half the world’s population, but it’s so much more than an accompaniment to a curry or Chinese. Its versatility is unbeatable, not only can it be used to make starters, mains and desserts, but it’s a gluten-free hero, can take on flavours of any dish, is a firm favourite among vegetarians and has health benefits to rival some of the most super of super foods.

To encourage the use of rice in outlets across the UK, during National Rice Week, Tilda has created some innovative recipes showcasing rice in surprisingly different ways:
· Cashing in on one of the fastest growing eating occasions of the moment, rice muesli using Tilda Wholegrain Basmati Rice is a delicious, slow release energy addition to any breakfast menu.
· Cooking up a frittata is a great way of utilising leftovers, including rice (any variety works), garnished with salad, it is a quick, easy and tasty lunchtime offer.
· Tilda Pure Basmati Rice can be used to replace glutinous flours in chocolate brownies making for a luxurious, gooey, gluten-free dessert item.
· Likewise swapping breadcrumbs with cooked Tilda Fragrant Jasmine Rice is a great way of bulking up burgers and because of its ‘sticky’ quality it has the added benefit of making these an egg-free and gluten-free option on menus.
· Using Tilda Brown ‘n’ White Rice and mozzarella as a pizza base transforms this dish into another gluten-free treat – an ideal addition to a kids menu because it doesn’t look out of place on the table.
· Utilising the premium Tilda Basmati & Wild Rice caterers can create the perfect blini with a variety of toppings to tantalise the taste buds.

Craig Dillon, head of foodservice at Tilda, says: “The aim of these Tilda recipes is to show caterers just how creative they can be with rice throughout National Rice Week – the potential is endless. Rice offers simple gluten-free solutions and can also be used to bulk up dishes, without comprising on taste, but increasing profit margins.

“The beauty of using Tilda is that its consistent results gives caterers the confidence in the kitchen, allowing them to concentrate on other items on the menu. We’re hoping that the many benefits of using rice will wow operators during National Rice Week and they’ll continue to use it on menus all year round.”

In addition to the recipes – which can be found on www.tildafoodservice.com – Tilda has created a downloadable National Rice Week menu poster which allows operators to add their ‘Rice Specials’, helping to spread the word to their customers and celebrate National Rice Week!

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