The Chefs’ Forum, in partnership with professionals across the NHS, will release The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge this coming March at HRC at ExCeL London on 25-27 March.

The book, which contains over 100 NHS recipes that every hospital chef should know, will detail the latest work being done across NHS England to improve patient, staff and visitor food across the NHS. It has always been our aim to provide a free copy of the book to our chefs throughout the NHS, and due to the amazing support of our sponsors, we will make it happen.

Since the Independent Review of Hospital Food was published in 2020 the NHS has been working towards implementing and furthering the recommendations. Chair of The Food Review and Senior Operational Manager and National Lead for Net Zero Food (NHSE), Philip Shelley has worked closely with The Chefs’ Forum to produce this important new work.

He explains: “Working with The Chefs’ Forum to produce The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge has been very important. For the first time since the Food Review, we now have a central book that contains not just recipes but detail about the journey from our kitchens to the patient.  We also talk about some of the specialties involved, staff catering and the need for a strong partnership between nursing, dietitians and our chefs.  There have been some incredible changes in recent years and although there is always more work to do, this is a chance to recognise where we now stand. Importantly, our chefs need to understand the wider implications of the review, the food standards, and the responsibility that they have throughout healthcare.“

Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum said: “This is a much-needed book and following on from the launch of The Chefs’ Knowledge last year, we have brought our publishing skills to the NHS. We have worked across the board, interviewing chefs, clinicians, doctors, dieticians, patient groups and NHS food supply experts, to gather as much up to date knowledge as we could. The amount of work that has been done over the last few years since the Food Review is enormous and our new book, written and edited by Chefs’ Forum editor Chandos Elletson, has left no stone unturned.

“Working with Phil Shelley and Nick Vadis from NHS Supply Chain, it gave us access to the best of the best, and the cherry on the cake was having Prue Leith write the foreword. The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge will launch on the Rational stand at HRC in March and we are looking forward to seeing the first printed copies as well as sending them out to every trust.

“However, we believe that such an important and timely work, will also have an interest in private hospitals, care homes and anywhere else where food is served to vulnerable patients.”