April Customer Newsletter – Food

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Andy Roadknight as NHS Supply Chain: Food’s new Head of Customer Engagement and Business Development.

This bolsters the team, as Greg Archer stepped up into Head of Procurement recently too. The pair are working together on the new Procurement Outlook, with you as the trusts being the focus.

Culinary Academy – new dates announced

We are pleased to announce the following Culinary Academies: 

• Thursday 28 May 2026 – Nottingham College 
• Wednesday 24 June 2026 – Ashburton Cookery School 
• Thursday 30 July 2026 – Edgbaston 
• Tuesday 1 September 2026 – Edgbaston. 

You can register your interest in upcoming Culinary Academies and sign up to our monthly newsletter by completing our Enquiry Form. 

Register your interest

We can’t wait to see you on Stand G19 at the HCA Forum. We’re running a number of interactive activities on our stand for you to enjoy and engage in over the two days.  

• Chef’s Academy activity sessions with our Culinary Team. 

• Allergen and Food Wastage activities with our Dietetics Team.

• We also have challenges where delegates have a chance to win our latest “Even More Please!” children’s concept book.

See you there.

We are pleased to announce the NHS Chef 2026 competition has opened for entries.

You will be required to produce a three-course meal within a budget of between £6-£8.  The whole menu must be low-carbon. All recipes have to be emailed in to england.greatnhsfood@nhs.net so the carbon footprint can be calculated before cooking.

• Starter: Must be plant‑based.
• Main course: Must contain a minimum of 26g of protein per portion. Protein can come from meat, fish, or other sources. The dish must be served hot.
• Dessert: Must contain at least 50% fruit (served hot or cold).
• Allergens: One course must be completely allergen‑free. No nuts of any kind may be used in any course throughout the competition.

April seasonal recipe

Rhubarb and ginger chutney 

Recipe ingredients	Quantity
Caster sugar	75g
Chopped dates	40g
Thyme	2g
Ginger	10g
Shallot	1
Rhubarb	100g
Apple vinegar	8ml
Orange	1
Salt and pepper	2g

Method:  

• Peel and finely chop the ginger and shallot. Peel and segment the orange, keeping the segments and juice separate. Peel and chop the rhubarb. 
• For the chutney, in a deep pan place sugar, chopped dates, chopped. rhubarb, ginger, thyme and shallots, leave all to caramelise slowly. 
• Stir in the cider vinegar and orange juice. Bring back to the boil and cook gently for eight to ten minutes. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool before serving. Serves four.