NHS Chef of the Year winners adapt winning dish for hospital menus
Medirest chefs Manuela Miccoli and Alejandro Bedoya Hernandez were named the 2024 NHS Chef of the Year winners in October, having competed against seven other finalists during the five-day event.
The competition aims to raise the profile of NHS chefs and provide them with a platform to showcase their talent, skills, and creativity in preparing nutritious and quality food for patients and staff.
Manuela Miccoli said: “Winning the NHS Chef of the Year award was a dream come true, so it’s been exciting to adapt the dish in a slightly different way to suit the Steamplicity method of cooking. Alejandro and I have a real passion for food, so it’s great to see the continued appreciation of our cooking and for it to be included on our Spring/Summer menus for many more people to enjoy and benefit from.”
The duo have been working with dietitians, chefs and Cuisine Centre product development specialists. Together they have created the award-winning main course of fresh Hake and Gnocchi served with a cherry tomato sauce, into a new dish for the Steamplicity menu. It is now available across 24 partner Trusts within the UK.
Phil Shelley, senior operational & policy manager at NHS England, commented: “The NHS chef of the year competition is in its fifth year, and we are proud to see how it has raised the profile of patient dining.
“Over the last 12 months we have seen a real maturity from our two winning Medirest chefs, showing that food makes a real difference to everyone in healthcare. Having tasted the Hake and the Gnocchi with the beautiful sauce, we can see that this is right for patient catering.”
Created by the Cuisine Centre, Steamplicity is an ‘innovative’ catering solution designed to deliver high-quality, nutritious and convenient dining options using steam-release cooking technology. The steam-cooking process preserves more nutrients than conventional cooking.
The Cuisine Centre creates over 14 million meals per year. The facilities are accredited by the British Retail Consortium Global Standards.
Russell Blake, managing director of healthcare at Compass Group UK & Ireland, added: “The aim of the NHS Chef of the Year competition is to share best practice and inspire skills, to further enhance the food offer available within the NHS. Our Medirest Chefs have done a brilliant job of creating a dish that stands out and is delicious and nutritious - so it is fantastic to get it on our menus and served to patients.”
The 2025 edition of the NHS Chef of the Year competition has opened for entries. To find out more visit here.
