Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?

Sept. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Well there is for one lucky South Tyneside student.

For Dean Cobb has won a free lunch every day for the next year after entering a competition with a South Shields catering firm.

The 18-year-old was among more than 100 customers of Mardi Gras, which has a sandwich bar on Dean Road, Westoe, who entered the £500 Free Dinner For A Year draw.

His name was drawn out at random and he can now claim his free lunchtime snack every day he is at college until next summer.

The competition was the brainwave of Mardi Gras owner Adele Kyle. She said: “Times are hard, especially for students with the withdrawal of their EMA grant. Obviously we can’t afford to give every student a free lunch, but we thought a competition where someone could win their dinner for the whole college year would go down well.”

Dean, of Palm Avenue, South Shields, said he was delighted to win the prize: “I was quite shocked when I found out - I got a message from my cousin who was in the shop when the draw was made. Then I got an email from Mardi Gras to tell me I’d won and I texted them straight back.”

The South Tyneside College BTEC National Diploma Level 3 ICT student, who hopes to go on to university before joining the police, added: “Lunchtime is going to be a lot cheaper for the next year now – I’m very happy.”

Mardi Gras is very popular with students, being located near the college’s Westoe campus, but Adele is expanding the business to include breakfast and lunchtime deliveries and a full outside catering service. Full details can be found on the new website at www.mardigrascatering.co.uk or by calling 07901 636 073.