Winners at the 2022 PSC Awards

NHS Supply Chain: Food are the proud winners of the ‘Training and Apprenticeship’ award at the 2022 Public Sector Catering awards.

The award recognises how NHS Supply Chain culinary and operations team, identified a gap in the training and resources available to NHS chefs and set about designing a ‘Chef’s Academy’ programme which would improve and upskill chefs within hospital catering teams.

In 2019, the NHS Supply Chain ‘Chef’s Academy’ was established to help teach culinary skills through hands-on cooking, inspiring new recipes, and providing opportunities to share best practice by meeting other NHS chefs, alongside those from other sectors.

The academy also compliments the recommendations made in the 2020 Independent Review of NHS hospital food, by supporting the NHS with:

• Improving the quality of food being produced in hospital kitchens across the country.
• Chef recruitment, retention, and career development.
• Recognising excellence in NHS catering teams.

The first academy took place in October 2020, at the Square Food Foundation Cookery School in Bristol. The event was hosted by Nick Vadis and Stephen England from the in-house culinary team. Joanna Instone, lead dietitian, also attended and provided a short talk on the importance of food nutrition for the NHS and patients.

Since the first event, 12 other events have taken place across the country with over 100 chefs from NHS catering teams attending.

NHS Supply Chain: Food has developed a range of culinary concept recipes for the NHS, which are used at each Chef’s Academy. The concepts are also now being used in NHS trusts across England, helping to increase and inspire NHS catering teams. Recipes include over 100 vegan and vegetarian dishes, helping to provide more sustainable food options and recipes which pick up on culinary trends, including a range of Great British dishes.

Nick and Stephen, rose to the challenge in creating a concept that made NHS Supply Chain: Food more than just a procurement body.

The academies were born from a request of ‘using your industry expertise what more can you offer NHS caterers?’ Having attended one myself, I can honestly say simplicity delivers as I was able to experience how the chefs engaged with each other, how they learnt new skills and how they cooked for each other, helping them understand the benefits of why things are done in a certain way.

The team are rightfully delighted to have won this award and I cannot wait to see how they take this one step further.

It was a real honour to be able to share the evening with some of the team, not only see their elation when the award was announced but how respected PSC100 members took the take time to congratulate them also.

Samantha Lee, NHS Supply Chain: Food, Category Tower Manager

Alongside winning the ‘Training and Apprenticeship’ award, NHS Supply Chain: Food was also a finalist in the ‘Hospital Catering’ award category.