October 2026 Customer Newsletter – Food

We are delighted to welcome Jamie Norfolk and Charlotte Harris, our two new Culinary Specialists to the team! Jamie will be looking after the North whilst Charlotte will be covering the South. The brand new Culinary Team members compliment Leanne, Millie and Nick, and bring with them a wealth of public sector catering experience, as well as a background in catering in the care sector.

Due to promotions within the team, there have been some changes to the Food Account Management Team. We are currently finalising the areas they look after and we will be in a position to confirm this all to you hopefully in next month’s newsletter. Once we have this all set in stone we will update the website and introduce you to the full team.

Congrats to our new Head of Customer Engagement, Dan Fleming who has recently been promoted into this role following all his success with trusts across England. Sarah Johnson also steps up as the Account Management Lead for the North and Darren Sorrell has also recently been promoted to Account Management Lead for the South. Dan, Sarah and Darren are all long-standing members of the team. 

I’m delighted to be stepping into my new leadership role as Head of Customer Engagement, building on my experience across account management, customer experience, and business development. Throughout my career, I’ve focused on creating strong customer partnerships, developing talented teams, and delivering commercial success through collaboration and innovation. I am passionate about the NHS, leading people, driving continuous improvement, and ensuring customers receive exceptional service and value. I look forward to working with colleagues, customers, and partners to achieve ambitious goals and continue delivering meaningful results.

Dan Fleming, Head of Customer Engagement, NHS Supply Chain: Food

NHS Supply Chain: Food’s free Chefs Academy and Skills Academy training events help NHS catering teams enhance their skills, share best practice and explore new approaches to nutrition, sustainability and patient-centred food service. Made to enhance the amazing service you give staff, patients and visitors already every day!

Designed for chefs, catering assistants and wider catering colleagues, these in-person sessions provide practical learning and valuable networking opportunities.

We’re looking to bring our academies to more locations across the UK.

Tell us where you’d like to see an academy hosted next. Email us or complete our Enquiry Form giving us your contact details and trust name. 

Food Team

food@supplychain.nhs.uk

Our IDDSI Toolkit and Childrens and Young People Guide will be coming out very soon! These will be downloadable resources for you and your trust here.

This follows on from our Carbon Toolkit this summer here, also available from the link above.

The NHS Supply Chain: Food team is pleased to announce that we’ll be attending the Public Sector Catering Alliance Forum.

If you’re attending, be sure to stop by our stand and say hello. We’d love the opportunity to meet delegates, discuss how we’re supporting NHS catering teams, and share updates from across our food and culinary programmes.

The Forum will take place at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, on Tuesday 17 November 2026, bringing together operators and opinion formers from across the public sector catering community.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Makes 10 portions.

Recipe ingredients	Quantity
Rapeseed oil	30ml
White cabbage	360g
Kale	100g
White wine vinegar	15ml
Flat leaf parsley	10g
Red onion	180g
Carrots	160g
Salt and pepper	0.2g

Method:

1. Tear the kale from its stalks. Wash well and drain in a colander.
2. Peel and grate the carrots and place into a bowl. Peel and finely slice the red onions and add to the carrot.
3. Cut the cabbage in half and then into quarters. Carefully thinly slice the cabbage with a knife.
4. Add the cabbage and kale to the other ingredients.
5. Mix all ingredients together with the rapeseed oil and vinegar.
6. Chop the parsley and fold through the slaw and season with the salt and pepper.

Chef’s Tip – This is a great vegan salad to have as a side dish and good way of getting in those leafy greens for iron!

Our latest Market Movers price change and inflation document can now be viewed here. This gives you key information and takeaways on the financial state of key categories, as well as industry news.