The Global Burger Challenge is back for 2027 as Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland launch the nationwide schools competition from Monday 5 October 2026.
Following another successful year, the challenge is returning earlier than ever to give secondary schools across Scotland more time to take part, develop their ideas and explore the journey of food from farm to fork.
Delivered in partnership by QMS and FDF Scotland, the Global Burger Challenge invites pupils to step into the shoes of food product developers by designing a new burger patty inspired by global cuisines. More than a cooking competition, the challenge brings together practical cookery, food science, provenance, sustainability, costings, marketing and careers education.
For 2027, the competition will once again run across two categories: S1–S3 pupils and S4–S6 pupils. The format allows younger learners to build confidence in food education while older pupils can apply more advanced skills in recipe reformulation, technical development, supply chain thinking and commercial planning.
Participants are tasked with creating a burger that reflects the flavours, ingredients and traditions of a chosen country or continent. Each recipe must include 100g of either Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb or Prime Scottish Pork, helping pupils understand the value of high-quality, traceable Scottish red meat as part of a balanced diet.
Using the Make it Scotch Education Hub resources as a foundation, pupils will evaluate their burger concepts against a broad brief covering authentic global flavours, nutrition, environmental impact, production costs, retail or foodservice potential, packaging, marketing and the range of careers involved in bringing a food product to market.
Last year’s competition saw pupils Ellen Lauder from Moffat Academy and Zuzanna Lewandowska from Trinity Academy take the top spots in the S1–S3 and S4–S6 categories respectively. Ellen’s Pork and Pip Burger used Roman-inspired flavours to balance pork and apple, while Zuzanna’s Garlick Tastic Burger drew on Polish flavours including pickles, garlic and cucumber, with locally sourced meat at the heart of the concept.
Abby Goldie, Community Engagement Co-ordinator at QMS, said: “The Global Burger Challenge gives pupils the chance to be creative while learning about where their food comes from, how it is produced and the many different people involved in Scotland’s red meat supply chain.
“We were hugely impressed by the standard of entries in 2026, from the creativity of the recipes to the thought pupils put into the key areas of nutrition, sustainability, marketing and cost. This year, launching the 2027 competition in October gives schools more time to build the challenge into their teaching and gives pupils more opportunity to develop their ideas.”
Moira Stalker, Skills Manager at FDF Scotland, added: “This challenge is a brilliant way to help young people connect classroom learning with real-world food and drink industry skills. It encourages pupils to think like product developers, considering everything from ingredients and flavour to production, packaging and how a product reaches consumers.
“Scotland’s food and drink sector offers a wide range of rewarding careers, and the Global Burger Challenge helps bring those opportunities to life in an engaging and practical way.”
Industry partners are also being encouraged to support the challenge by sharing resources with schools and, where possible, offering real-world insight through guest talks, site visits, feedback on pupil concepts or introductions to people working across farming, butchery, manufacturing, retail, foodservice, marketing and product development.
Key dates
The Global Burger Challenge 2027 launches on Monday 5 October 2026. Schools will be invited to submit entries ahead of the judging stage, with shortlisted burgers recreated by a professional chef and winners recognised at the 2027 Royal Highland Show. The closing date for entries is Friday 19th March 2027 at 5pm.
Resources and submission details
To support teachers, there is a suite of resources to help embed the challenge into food, health, science, business and wider skills-based learning.
This teacher’s pack includes the full design brief, learning resources and more details on how to enter.
The entry form can be downloaded here.
Entries should be sent to moira.stalker@fdfscotland.org.uk