Hospital Caterers Association chair looks forward to Forum
Hospital caterers from around the UK will be gathering at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole from April 1-2 for the HCA Leadership & Development Forum 2025. HCA chair Iain Robertson looks forward to the event.
The programme for this year’s Hospital Caterers Association Leadership and Development Forum will be a little different to previous years - the first day is largely focusing on live cooking demonstrations by NHS chefs.
Each of the demo sessions focuses on a topical issue being faced by hospital caterers. The first has Alejandro Hernandez and Manuela Miccoli, who won the NHS England Chef competition in 2024, and will be hosted by Charlotte Fairall with a focus on feeding children.
Next we have Alan Dougan and James Dougan, who will be demonstrating ways to reduce food waste. Alan and James were judged best-in-class at the HCA Four Nations Showcase in 2023 and the session will be hosted by Nick Vadis.
Finally, Darren Taggart and Angela Dickson will be cooking some ‘lower carbon’ meals with support from Jethro Lawrence, development chef at apetito. Darren and Angela were judged best-in-class at the HCA Four Nations Showcase last year. This session will be hosted by Lee Sheppard.
This day of topical cooking demonstrations brings an exciting new element to the Forum and will be of real interest to hospital caterers, I’m sure.
It is also worth saying that we have reduced day delegate rates this year to encourage as many hospital chefs and team members to attend as possible. After all, they are the future of hospital catering and the Hospital Caterers Association. I believe the event will be inspirational for them and may well be their first interaction with the HCA.
Day two will have a more traditional Forum feel, starting with a talk achieving Net Zero targets, something that is high on everyone’s agenda.
Professor Kevin Morgan will then talk about public sector food procurement, I have heard Professor Morgan speak before and I can assure you this is a session you will not want to miss.
Later we will turn the focus on staff development and retention with Lucy Rowe from NHS England and a Four-Nation panel that includes Deborah McNeil, Duncan O’Neil and the new chair of the Public Sector Catering Alliance, Jayne Jones.
After lunch on day two, Doctor Sam Mudie will explain to delegates the process of reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions and then Frank Fiore, catering manager at Milton Keynes Hospital, will tell us how his team has achieved exceptional change by working with the local farming community on their Farm to Fork initiative.
The Forum will close with Doctor Kimberley Wilson talking about how what we eat is fuelling a mental health crisis. I am particularly looking forward to this session and I am sure it will be a great end to the programme.
In addition to this great line-up, we will also have our Presidents Dinner and awards night after day one, when we will get the chance to celebrate the very best of our wonderful industry.
The Forum Management Team (FMT) has been very busy pulling together this programme of events with the aim of delivering an interactive, food and solution focussed event. It also includes more than 100 exhibitors who can help hospital caterers discover new products and services.
All in all, the Forum is a superb way of introducing those new to the NHS, as well as those that have developed into leadership roles within healthcare, to the best of what we do. This really will be a great event and if you haven’t already, go ahead and book.
