SHE has been serving up school dinners for more than three decades and her roast beef is the stuff of legend.
Now, head cook Linda Smirk is hanging up her ladle after dishing up dinners in schools across Hull for 33 years.
She has been working at St Mary Queen of Martyrs Primary School, Sutton Park, for 13 years and her colleagues say she will be "sorely missed" by everyone who knows her.
Linda, 64, said: "It's been hectic serving up my last Christmas dinners and it will be very emotional when I leave at the end of this week.
"When I first came to the school, some of the little children didn't want to eat vegetables but now all of them eat at least some.
"It's incredibly important for pupils to have hot school meals because, for some of them, it's their main meal of the day.
"I will miss so many people from the school and all of the staff are very well mannered."
Linda, of Bransholme, has worked at Winifred Holtby School along with many of the schools in Bransholme.
She said although she loves whipping up the perfect roast dinner, the children always prefer fish and chips.
"They are really funny sometimes. The other day a little boy came up to me and said he'd seen me with my dad," Linda said.
"It turns out it was my husband, who is in a wheelchair, and I had great delight going home and telling him that."
Linda said she will be spending more time with her husband Charles when she retires, along with the babies in her family and her new great-niece.
"I'll still be cooking over Christmas and have bought a turkey crown, leg of lamb and piece of beef to feed a full house," she said.
This week Linda dished up Christmas dinners for more than 160 schoolchildren for the final time.
Headteacher Patricia Graham described Linda as "extremely dedicated, resourceful and resilient."
She said: "Linda has a great work ethic and is a natural leader in the kitchen having worked her way up to head cook.
"But she doesn't just do the paperwork, she gets stuck in and does everything.
"Linda has a brilliant sense of humour, it's obvious how much she loves the children and she is very much loved by everyone at the school.
"Some of the children can be fussy and Linda has done all she can to make sure they eat well."
