Acorn Awards 2026: Megan Baldock, Culinera

Position Development chef, Culinera

Age 25

Nominator Emma Wood, director, Culinera

At just 25, Megan Baldock is the youngest development chef at education caterer Culinera. 

She is responsible for half of its culinary output and plays a key role in influencing its purchasing strategy. In the past 18 months, she has led the creation of a unified school menu offer, delivering more than 55,000 meals a day across 70 schools, balancing nutrition, cost and consistency at scale. 

Baldock has developed a customisable online menu system that has driven a 10% uplift in primary school sales, while also testing more than 300 sustainable dishes to improve quality and efficiency. She has placed a strong focus on nutrition, overhauling the sweet treat range to reduce sugar by 20% and eliminate processed fats. Alongside this, she has introduced a scratch cooking programme and led training initiatives that have strengthened a fresh food culture across Culinera’s sites.

Baldock also designed a full induction pathway and delivered the programme to 18 new managers – a move that contributed to 100% manager retention – while also upskilling more than 135 cooks, assistants and bakers through hands-on training and mentoring. 

She consistently goes far beyond her remit, demonstrating exceptional commitment, curiosity and care for colleagues, customers and the wider community. Beyond the business, she actively engages with schools, delivering sessions to promote healthy eating, reaching 100 pupils at a time, while also running her own baking venture alongside her role.