Edition Three of The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge Launch Celebrates Provenance, Seasonality and the Future of Hospital Food

The third edition of The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge has officially launched, bringing together leading figures from healthcare catering, nutrition, procurement, sustainability and the wider foodservice industry to celebrate the people and ideas driving positive change across hospital food.

The latest book, The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge 3: Provenance & Seasonality – From Research to Practice, was unveiled at a special industry event at Capital City College Group in London’s Westminster, marking the third consecutive year of the publication and firmly establishing its launch as an annual fixture in the healthcare foodservice calendar.

Edited and published by Catherine Farinha, Founder of The Chefs’ Forum, the new edition explores how provenance and seasonality can support better nutrition, more sustainable procurement, reduced food waste and, ultimately, a better food experience for patients.

The launch brought together healthcare chefs, dietitians, nutrition specialists, procurement professionals, educators, suppliers, sustainability Experts and industry leaders for an afternoon of food, discussion and knowledge sharing.

From Research to Practice

A central feature of the event was a thought-provoking panel, hosted by the book’s editor and publisher, Catherine Farinha, which explored some of the key themes covered in the book, drawing on face-to-face interviews with key changemakers featured in the book and with suppliers and stakeholders across Healthcare Foodservice nationwide.

Dr Sumi Baruah and Idrees Anwar of Culinary Medicine discussed the increasingly important relationship between nutrition, medicine and patient outcomes, examining how chefs, clinical teams and food producers can work more closely together, and the role that food can play in a patient’s wider care and recovery.

The conversation also explored the importance of making nutritious food appealing and accessible, particularly for patients whose appetite, medical condition or treatment may make eating difficult.

Charlotte Fairall of Sophie’s Legacy and Annu Sharma of Mitie discussed the innovative paediatric snack trolley initiative at the John Radcliffe Hospital, highlighting the importance of listening to children and families and finding practical ways to improve the hospital food experience. The initiative has shown that relatively simple interventions can make a meaningful difference and has provided valuable learning as the concept is developed across additional Mitie sites.

Tom Cooper, Catering Manager at Dorset County Hospital brings a strong combination of academic business and management expertise and lived operational experience to his role at Dorset County Hospital. Having previously worked within a nose-to-tail pub operation, Tom understands first-hand the importance of extracting maximum value from ingredients, controlling waste, managing margins and creating an offer that customers genuinely want to buy.

Karen Beech, Category Lead for Food & Drink at Government Commercial Agency, brought a procurement perspective to the discussion, promoting the leading procurement platform, Entegra, and examining how purchasing decisions made long before ingredients reach the hospital kitchen can influence seasonality, menu quality, availability, sustainability and food waste.

The panel considered how greater visibility into seasonal availability and supply-chain conditions can enable catering teams to plan rather than react, while closer collaboration among chefs, procurement teams and suppliers can help build more resilient menus.

Dr Emily Porter, Senior Dietitian at AHDB concluded the panel discussion by highlighting the importance of British food production and provenance, and of helping chefs understand the story behind the ingredients they use. The discussion emphasised the opportunity for healthcare catering to strengthen connections between British farmers, food producers and hospital kitchens, while ensuring that nutrition, value and sustainability remain at the heart of menu planning.

Together, the panellists reinforced one of the central messages of the new book: meaningful change occurs when chefs, clinicians, dietitians, procurement teams, suppliers and patients collaborate rather than working in isolation or silos.

A Lunch Menu Brought to Life from the Book

Guests were also able to experience the book in the best possible way – by tasting it.

Vince Kelly, Head of Culinary Arts, and Chef Joseph Sullivan led the students in preparing a delicious canapé menu inspired by Culinary Medicine.

Nick Vadis, Leanne Turk and Millie Morgan from Foodbuy Group and NHS Supply Chain created a fantastic menu featuring dishes from The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge, bringing the recipes and principles explored throughout the publication to life. All ingredients were kindly sponsored by RD Johns, Kwerky, First Choice Produce and NH Case.

The menu demonstrated how provenance, seasonality, nutrition and great cooking can work together, showing that food developed for healthcare environments can be both nutritionally appropriate and genuinely enjoyable.

The celebration was completed with a spectacular cake specially created for the occasion by Executive Pastry Chef Biju Joshwa of Sheraton Grand Park Lane.

The cake provided a fitting centrepiece for the launch and marked not only the arrival of the third book, but the continued growth of a project that has developed into an important annual platform for sharing evolution, progress and best practice across healthcare catering.

“This Is About Turning Knowledge into Action”

Philip Shelley, Project Lead for NHS England’s Healthcare Food Programme, said:

“The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge has developed into an important platform for bringing together the many different disciplines involved in healthcare food. This third edition continues that journey by focusing on provenance and seasonality and, crucially, how we turn knowledge into practical action.

“Healthcare catering has made significant progress, but continuing that progress requires collaboration between chefs, dietitians, procurement teams, suppliers, educators, patients and nursing teams. Events such as this enable us to share what is working, challenge ourselves to do better and ensure that good food remains central to patient care.”

Catherine Farinha, Editor and Publisher of The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge and Founder of The Chefs’ Forum, added:

“It is quite incredible to see the third Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge book launched and to realise that this has now become an annual event.

“What began as a way to bring knowledge, research and best practice together has grown into a genuine community of people passionate about improving healthcare food. This edition is very much about moving from research and data analysis to practice, taking conversations about provenance, seasonality, nutrition, sustainability and food waste and showing how they can translate into real changes in hospital kitchens.”

“I would like to express my sincere thanks to every chef, dietitian, nutritionist, procurement specialist, academic, NHS professional, contributor and industry expert who gave their time and expertise to this edition. I am equally grateful to our sponsors and partners, without whose support it simply would not be possible to produce and distribute this resource.”

“And what better way to launch a book about food than with fantastic dishes from the book, cooked by Nick Vadis and his team, and an incredible celebration cake from Biju Joshwa? It was a very special day.”

A Growing Healthcare Food Resource

Now in its third edition, The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge series has evolved into an annual publication that shares practical knowledge, research, case studies and innovation with those responsible for feeding patients across the UK.

This year’s theme, Provenance & Seasonality – From Research to Practice, examines the food journey from producer and supplier through procurement and into the hospital kitchen, ultimately reaching the patient’s plate.

Across the four seasons, the book explores ingredients, nutrition, menu development, sustainability, food waste, patient engagement, and practical examples of innovation in healthcare foodservice.

The publication also celebrates the chefs and catering teams who work behind the scenes every day to ensure that patients receive nutritious, appropriate and enjoyable food.

The Chefs’ Forum would like to extend its sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to the third edition, and to all the sponsors and industry partners whose support has made the project possible.

With three editions now completed, the annual launch of The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge continues to serve as an important meeting point for the healthcare catering community: Celebrating progress, sharing knowledge, and, most importantly, helping to turn ideas into action.

Photography by Carlos Farinha @carlosclickuk