Building on the success of winning the coveted NHS Chef of the Year title, Medirest, the healthcare division of Compass Group UK & Ireland, and Compass’ Cuisine Centre have partnered to bring a winning dish to patients, as part of its hospital menus for Spring/Summer 2025. It is now available across 24 partner Trusts within the UK.

Medirest chefs Manuela Miccoli and Alejandro Bedoya Hernandez were named the NHS Chef of the Year winners in October 2024, having competed against seven other finalists during the five-day event. The aim of the competition is to raise the profile of NHS chefs and provide them with a platform to showcase their talent, skills, and creativity in preparing nutritious, quality food for patients and staff.

The duo have been working closely with Compass’ wider Medirest and Cuisine Centre teams, including 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 vibrant cherry tomato sauce, into a new dish for the Steamplicity menu.

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, MD, Healthcare – Compass Group UK & Ireland: “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.”

Kate Edgecombe, Head of New Product Development, Cuisine Centre said: “It’s a real accomplishment to achieve the coveted NHS Chef of the Year award, so we wanted to commemorate the team’s success while further elevating our Cuisine Centre options. Together, we’ve taken Manuela and Alejandro’s creative execution and developed it to work for Steamplicity. It was fantastic to work with the award-winning duo and we’re very happy with the result.”

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.”

Phil Shelley, Senior Operational & Policy Manager, NHS England said: “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.”