A TRURO dinner man has beaten off competition to win a national Food and Farming award.

John Rankin, 42, who works at Penair Secondary School won the "best dinner lady or man award" at this year's Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards last Wednesday.

He said: "I just think it's made the whole school proud and all the kids are happy about it. It's just like getting an Oscar.

"I think it's also good for Cornwall too, as far as using local produce and getting a national award."

The former chef and white water-rafting guide was presented with his award by the Duchess of Cornwall at a ceremony held at the BBC Broadcasting House in London.

He was chosen by a panel of judges headed by chef and restaurateur Raymond Blanc, alongside Blur bassist and cheese maker Alex James and Jeanette Orrey, a former dinner lady who worked with TV chef Jamie Oliver on a TV programme and became a campaigner for good school food.

John, who has been at the school since October 2007, impressed the judges with his transformation of the traditional school meal with exotic cuisine from around including snails, kangaroo pie, ostrich and venison, which has seen the intake of school dinners rise from 30 to 300.

He was also praised for his work in getting the children involved in the cooking process through the school's kitchen garden and butchery demonstrations.

He said: "I could not have done it without the help of all my team. They are the best team in the world."

John's next challenge will be to try and encourage other schools to follow his example and start producing better quality main meals and move towards growing their own produce.