NHS England Carbon and Sustainability Workshop at Northampton College

Northampton College Hosts NHS England Event to Inspire Future Healthcare Chefs and formulate future GHGE, carbon reduction strategy with a room full of NHS healthcare foodservice stakeholders.

The Lane Restaurant and Brasserie, the world-class training restaurant at Northampton College, proudly hosted a special event today in collaboration with NHS England and The Chefs’ Forum. The event brought together students, healthcare professionals, and industry leaders to inspire the next generation of hospital chefs.

The event, held at the college’s state-of-the-art facilities, aimed to showcase career pathways within the NHS England and encourage young people to consider a future in healthcare catering. Attendees had the opportunity to engage with NHS England representatives, participate in a hands-on workshop, and gain valuable insights into the diverse range of roles available in the healthcare foodservice sector.

“We are delighted to have welcomed NHS England Net Zero Leaders, Catering Managers and foodservice stakeholders to Northampton College today,” said Phil Martin, Curriculum Manager for Hospitality and Catering at Northampton College. “This event has provided an invaluable opportunity for our students to explore potential careers within the NHS and gain a deeper understanding of the skills and dedication required to work in healthcare catering. It was also a wonderful opportunity to showcase some local food and drink producers from Northampton Food and Drink including Well Roasted Coffee Company, Houghton Hams, Farrington’s Mellow Yellow dressings, Hargrave Mee Blueberries, Sol Haven & The loving Chef, Moulton Salma Soulful.”

Throughout the day, the stakeholders participated in an interactive carbon and sustainability workshop, including recipe formulation activities, blue sky thinking on carbon and sustainability strategy and discussions led by Tim Radcliffe, Net Zero Food Programme Manager at NHS England and Catherine Farinha, CEO at The Chefs’ Forum.

Tim Radcliffe said
“It is very important that we gather our colleagues together to talk about food waste reduction, responsible sourcing and how we can collectively create more sustainable menus within our NHS Trusts. I very much enjoyed delivering today’s session and was impressed with the knowledge and passion in the room. I am really excited for the future and look forward to hearing from the delegates on how they have applied the knowledge shared and acquired today to their individual settings.”

Catherine Farinha added
“We are delighted to be running this series of six Carbon and Sustainability Workshops nationwide, in association with the Net Zero Leads for Foodservice in NHS England. We are also writing a new book, The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge 2: Eating The Rainbow, which will largely comprise the content and ideas yielded from the six workshops across six regions of England.”

The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge 2: Eating The Rainbow is set to launch at Healthcare Catering Live on the 9th September and will be a valuable resource and recipe bank of 100 sustainable and carbon-friendly recipes that all NHS chefs should know.

Headline Sponsor, Jacklyn Case, Sales and Marketing Director at NH Case said
“I am truly delighted to be here today, and it has been fascinating to hear about all the ways NHS England is striving to reduce its carbon footprint and enhance sustainability. NH Case has been supplying the NHS for nearly 60 years with a diverse range of sustainable fish species and low-carbon ready meals. It is our pleasure to support this new publication, enabling us to communicate how we can assist NHS healthcare caterers in producing sustainable and delicious meals for patients, staff, and visitors.”

Representatives from NHS England emphasised the importance of inspiring the next generation of healthcare workers, particularly as the industry faces a growing demand for skilled professionals.

“Events held at our colleges like this one are crucial in shaping the future workforce of the NHS,” continued Radcliffe. “We want to encourage young people to consider a career in healthcare catering and demonstrate the rewarding and impactful nature of these roles. Today’s event has been a fantastic opportunity to bring our stakeholders and colleagues together to discuss sustainability, engage with the teaching team and students at Northampton College and highlight the vast career possibilities within the NHS. The students created a beautiful lunch, offering our esteemed delegates the opportunity to enjoy ‘Eating The Rainbow’ and showcasing local wild venison in a beautiful cottage pie, which proved very popular indeed.”

The event underpinned Northampton College’s ongoing commitment to providing students with valuable career-focused opportunities, supporting local food producers and strengthening its partnerships with key industry stakeholders and employers, this time NHS England and careers in Healthcare Catering.

The lunch was kindly sponsored by producers from Northampton Food and Drink, and made by the students with the NHS chefs – Leanne Turk and Matt Dodds from NHS Supply Chain.

For more information about Northampton College and its hospitality and catering courses, click HERE.

For more information on The Chefs’ Forum, forthcoming Carbon and Sustainability Workshops and the new publication, The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge 2, Eating The Rainbow, contact catherine@redcherry.uk.com

Photography & film by Carlos Farinha