Monmouthshire schools have introduced a chickpea korma to their menus in a bid to reduce deforestation.

Following a successful showcase at the Abergavenny Food Festival, where pupils presented and served the dish to television presenter Kate Humble and MasterChef’s James Nathan, Monmouthshire County Council announced they would be adding it to school menus across the county.

The food festival, held on September 22, saw the two celebrities judge the children's creations.

Pupils from four Monmouthshire schools impressed both judges and the audience with their reimagined korma.

Abergavenny Food Festival 2024Abergavenny Food Festival 2024 (Image: Richard Stanton) Organised by Size of Wales in partnership with Monmouthshire County Council, the Co-op Foundation, and the ‘Cookalong Clwb,’ the initiative is part of the Deforestation Free Champions campaign.

Size of Wales, which is working to make Wales part of the global solution to climate change, has been working to help Monmouth on its journey to becoming deforestation-free.

It said Monmouthshire County Council’s decision to introduce the chickpea korma to school menus is a milestone in the Deforestation Free Champions campaign.

Nichola James, Deforestation Free Champions campaign officer at Size of Wales, said: "We’re thrilled that Monmouthshire County Council has committed to including this dish on school menus.

"It’s a fantastic way to embed environmental sustainability into everyday life and shows how the younger generation can inspire real change."

Television presenter Kate Humble at Abergavenny Food Festival 2024Television presenter Kate Humble at Abergavenny Food Festival 2024 (Image: Richard Stanton) The pupils audited their school menu and found the chicken korma dish was at risk of deforestation because the chicken was fed on soy, causing devastation of tropical forests in places such as Brazil.

Kate Humble said: "By eating less but better quality meat such as organic that isn't fed on soy and increasing alternative proteins such as chickpeas, beans, and lentils we can take deforestation off the menu.

"These children have shown it’s possible – and if they can do it, we all can."

The chickpea korma pilot is part of Size of Wales’ larger effort to make Wales the first country in the world to eliminate tropical deforestation from its supply chains.

Last year alone, an area of tropical forest twice the size of Wales was lost due to deforestation caused by the products and services consumed globally.

The Deforestation Free Champions campaign aims to change this by promoting more sustainable, deforestation-free practices.