NHS Supply Chain: Food launch new children’s concept recipe book ‘Even More Please’

Following on from the great success of the first book – ‘More Please!’
NHS Supply Chain: Food are launching a new children’s concept recipe book entitled ‘Even More Please!’

The book provides trust culinary teams with healthy and innovative recipes for children in hospitals, as well as their visitors, alongside valuable insights in the way of highly original and inventive page breaks provided by the NHS Supply Chain: Food Dietetics Team, including advice around portion control, the importance of the different colours in our food and much more.

The book offers inspiration and a fresh approach to children’s feeding to chefs and culinary members within trusts, and provides children in hospital with something new and different from what they’ve had before as patients – encouraging them to say ‘More Please!’ and now ‘Even More Please!’

The presentation of the book is bright, colourful and inventive, written in a very bite-sized way which will be easy for hospital chefs to digest and apply within their work day to day.

The first book gained traction quickly, and Phil Shelley, Senior Operational and Policy Manager and National Lead for Food from NHS England, said:

 “It’s incredibly encouraging to see that children’s and young people’s meal choices are finally receiving the focus and attention they truly deserve. I’m already noticing positive changes in services, particularly around the quality, availability, and thoughtful development of menus within hospitals feeding children. This second edition continues to drive innovation as a food concept, providing both inspiration and confidence to catering teams as we collectively raise the bar.”

The entire NHS Supply Chain: Culinary and Dietetics Team have been working hard to contribute to this book this year leading up to the launch, led by Nick Vadis, Culinary Ambassador and Leanne Turk, Development Chef.

It was a collective effort, produced with Charlotte Fairall, from the charity Sophie’s Legacy, being a contributor to the book also. Idrees Anwar, Lead Dietician from NHS Supply Chain: Food spoke about the work the team have done for this book. Idrees said “Prevention, via good food within hospitals, hopefully will stimulate a movement that outside of hospitals parents and children want to make a difference for themselves. ‘Even More Please’ is part of our Children’s Feeding Concept. It is a helpful guide and introduction that helps everyone see how we can be improving the food environment for children. Nutrition does form part of a Care Plan for a child in hospital, to aid their recovery, and food does very much play a part in that.”

Sophie’s Legacy

A charity set up in memory of Sophie Fairall, daughter of Charlotte Fairall, who was sadly diagnosed with cancer in September 2020, age 9, and had a long stay in hospital until she died aged 10.

Charlotte Fairall said:

“Food is absolutely pivotal for anyone in hospital. Sophie was a real foodie, but described hospital food as disgusting and refused to eat it. She wanted to see improvements on children’s food, as well as parents staying in hospital being fed. I met with Nick Vadis from NHS Supply Chain: Food, and he made a commitment to make a difference, and came up with the idea of a cook book.”

Left to right: Millie Morgan, Leane Turk, Nick Vadis, Charlotte Fairall, Michael Sharp, Idrees Anwar

Leanne Turk went on to say “Even More Please brings a taste of the new generation in the recipes, through valuable insights, in the work we do in the NHS, and in our work with Sophie’s Legacy. The book offers a wide range of recipes driven by high street trends and hospital insights, with great coverage of health and wellbeing from our dieticians. Food creates memories. I’d like to think that if children were in hospital, then the food was something that brought happiness to their day.”

Nick Vadis said “It was an aide-mémoire to support child feeding, those hospitals that have scratch cooking (cooking from scratch) for the children. It was to create some more interest, give some of our insights, and to really drive change.”

As part of NHS 10 year plan (10 Year Health Plan for England: fit for the future), long-term illnesses and conditions can be prevented in later life if we nourish children correctly right from the start. Michael Sharp, Culinary Specialist for NHS Supply Chain: Food said “Children’s nutrition is paramount. It is important that what children receive in hospital appeals to them, so that they don’t skip any meals and they eat everything that’s given to them.”

Millie Morgan, Culinary Specialist for NHS Supply Chain: Food went on to speak about how one trust has already taken on some of the recipes from the book, and with great success. Millie said “Sheffield Children’s Hospital have adopted six of the recipes from our first book, the feedback from the children and the ward staff has been incredible. We are really making a difference.”

The Dietetics Team were key in the production of this book. Pirianka Louis Montfort, Nutrition Compliance Manager for NHS Supply Chain: Food said “These books help the patients and the care givers be able to power themselves both in hospital, and out of hospital. This is a book that can give people help and support in their every day lives, at home, and provides inspiration to them. This is a resource that is more practical and applicable for parents and care givers when they get home and want to continue the style of cooking for their children. This book will make it a lot easier for them.”

Idrees summed up the purpose of the book, saying “As part of the campaign, we are hoping to mobilise a real change and stimulate a process for all hospitals across England, and we’re hoping that the campaign not only stimulates that change for food, but specifically for children. It’s about reinvigorating that passion for hospital caterers. Food is really emotive, and so by making food enjoyable we can help them to be able to get better.”

All information in this media statement is correct at the time of going to press.

About NHS Supply Chain

Our role is to source, deliver and supply healthcare products, services and food for NHS trusts and healthcare organisations across England and Wales. By working in collaboration with the healthcare system and suppliers, we help the NHS to put patients first.

We are a part of the NHS and deliver cost-efficient, resilient, clinically assured products that are responsive to frontline needs and focussed on the end-to-end patient pathway.

We provide over 35 million products a year to the NHS in a wide variety of categories, from food to knee implants and MRI scanners, and work with over 1,100 suppliers. Through our scale and reach, we deliver value at a national level on behalf of the whole healthcare system to support the NHS to save lives and improve health.

Supply Chain Coordination Ltd (SCCL) is the company at the heart of NHS Supply Chain. It provides oversight and operational management for NHS Supply Chain and its service providers. SCCL is the legal entity through which NHS Supply Chain undertakes its procurement services and transacts with customers and suppliers. Whilst its shares are owned by NHS England, SCCL is a separate organisation.