January Customer Newsletter – Food

Thank you for all your hard work over the festive period and now going into the new year. 

We know the winter season brings its challenges, but please know our team is on hand to support you.  

If you’d like to contact us to ask for any help and support, please contact us.

Now we’re firmly in 2026, please register your interest in our upcoming culinary events. 

If you can provide your full details including your trust name and site location, we can look to tailor events to you in your area.  

See our Useful Links section to sign up to the Chefs Academy or Skills Academy events using our Enquiry Form online.

Alternatively, email your name, trust name, contact number and email.

These events are free to attend. The Chefs Academy is aimed at Chefs within NHS hospitals, and the Culinary Academy is aimed at Catering Assistants. Attendance also counts towards any Chef currently undertaking an NHS Chef Apprenticeship.  

We are delighted to launch our new training videos. Our Dietetics Team have captured some amazing content for you in snappy short two minute videos helping your teams clearly understand the importance of effective allergen management. They will also deepen your understanding of why it is critical to patient safety and service quality.  

See our Useful Links section to watch our training videos.

Watch this space for training videos from our Culinary Team very soon.

In support of Veganuary we are sharing an exciting vegan recipe with you. Try out some fresh new recipes this Veganuary in your trust kitchen. Top chef NHS Supply Chain: Food’s Leanne Turk is excited to present her Beetroot Tagine recipe below.  
 
Leanne’s chef’s tip is to serve the tagine with cous cous or a chargrilled flatbread – which will compliment this tasty, fragrant recipe packed full of herbs, spices and vegan goodness to kickstart your new year.
 

Recipe ingredients	Quantity
Water	300ml
Onion	200g
Chickpeas	125g
Beetroot	200g
Vegetable bouillon	10g
Sultanas	30g
Dried apricots	50g
Spice ground cinnamon	5g
Paprika	5g
Cumin	5g
Turmeric	2g
Coriander	10g
Mint	5g
Thyme	5g
Chopped tomatoes	800g
Rapeseed oil	60ml
Butternut squash	400g

Method:

• Wash the vegetables.  
• Peel the butternut squash and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into a two centimetre dice. 
• Peel and dice the beetroot into two centimetre dice. 
• Shred the mint and coriander and roughly chop the apricots. 
• Peel and finely slice the onions.
• Dilute the vegetable stock with the water. 
• Heat the oil in a pan and cook the onions over a low to medium heat until golden.
• Add the diced beetroot, thyme, and butternut squash and sweat in the pan.  
• Stir in all the ground spices and gently cook over a low heat for a further five to ten minutes.
• Add the tomato puree and cook out.  
• Drain and rinse the chickpeas, add to the pan with the chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock.
• Add the apricots and raisins.  
• Leave to simmer for an hour. Stir in the chopped herbs before serving.  
• Serves six.