The Mayor of Rotherham, Councillor Rose McNeeley and Alan Tolhurst, Chairman of NHS Rotherham will be attending to judge the best tasting pizzas, with bonus points being awarded for using fresh fruit and vegetables that make up part of their daily 5-a-day and low fat ingredients as toppings.

The cooking competition is part of the “Maltby Masterchef” initiative run by NHS Rotherham, and aims to encourage families to make healthier food choices by providing the knowledge and skills to prepare food that is tasty, healthy and easy to make. The idea is to show that even unhealthy take-aways such as pizzas can be turned into quick and simple meals for the family by making it at home and choosing the right ingredients.

The Stepping Stones cook off kick-starts a series of cooking events, which will be held in Maltby from September 2010 to March 2011. The competitions will be run for participants in a range of age groups, focus on family participation and involve community representatives. The winning meals from each event will be printed on to recipe cards and distributed to local shops and community centres.

The competition will take place on Wednesday 8th September between 10am and 12pm at Stepping Stone’s Children Centre Tickhill Road, Maltby, Rotherham, S66 7NQ.