At the Hospital Caterers Association Leadership & Development Forum in Brighton a range of speakers addressed these issues with insight, ideas, and first-hand experience.
Outgoing national chair Iain Robertson highlighted partnership working with the National Association of Care Catering on a joint Level 2 qualification for chefs in care and healthcare, and the decision by the HCA to sponsor a new competition called Junior Chef of the Year which is being launched by The School Food People (formerly known as LACA).
He said the junior chef initiative would allow HCA members to talk about healthy eating and the career options in healthcare to young people who were already interested in food and cooking.
Robertson added that the Hospital Caterers Association was proposing to create a new membership option – development membership – aimed at younger and less senior people who had ambition. It would be offered at a discounted price and, crucially he felt, provide a real benefit to people who needed it the most while bringing new talent into the organisation.
Greengrocer and TV presenter Chris Bavin, who was the forum facilitator, offered delegates some ‘eat well for less’ inspiration with a cooking demonstration on stage assisted by 2025 NHS Chef of the Year Ned Rusev and compered by Craig Smith.
Bavin made dhal, onion badji and sweetcorn fritters. He highlighted the importance of the event by stating “collaboration is key” and that sharing ideas between hospital trusts was even more important given the sector is facing huge challenges such as recruitment and food price inflation.
Anita Brown, chair of the Public Sector Catering Alliance, hosted a session titled ‘Working Together’ as she highlighted caterers across the sector faced similar challenges. She said over 2.6 billion meals are provided across the public sector every year, which represents 10% of the foodservice sector.
She pointed out several key trends across the public sector including the increase in plant-based meals, ethical sourcing, sustainability and the changing approach to public procurement. Brown concluded by praising the people in the room for their hard work in ensuring society’s most vulnerable receive healthy and nutritious meals.
The Food Safety Update session involved Tina Potter from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse from the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation and Fiona Sinclair, founder of Inspectrum.
Collectively they updated delegates on key legislation, practice as well as any recent research and development news. Sinclair highlighted food safety trends in hospitals whilst pointing out that Listeria multiplies twice as fast at 8°C compared with 5°C.
Potter told attendees that Salmonella increases in May and that the most common hazards in hospitals are allergies and pathogens. She also noted that milk is the most common allergen in food in relation to allergen alerts.
Nadim shared a case study of a child called Charlie who underwent immunotherapy. Previously he would react to just 3ml of milk but after being exposed to small amounts of milk he is now able to consume 30ml a day. The final results of the study will be released in 2027 but Nadim hopes the immunotherapy will be expanded across the NHS.
Tanya spoke about several key campaigns including the introduction of Benedict’s Law in schools, the Allergy School launched in 2025 which has now been expanded to secondary and university students as well as the petition for an Allergy Tsar.
The Forum also heard from Charlie Hodson and Camilla Woods on behalf of the charity Hospitality Action about the importance of looking after our own mental health and that of our colleagues.
And the start of a national deposit return scheme for drinks cans and bottles in October 2027 was flagged up by Craig Gilson of Radnor Hills, who said it will impose a responsibility on grocery and retail sites to receive single-use drinks containers made from PET plastic, steel, and aluminium between 150ml and 3 litres in size.
Foodservice operations, however, can choose whether or not to take part. The message, he said, was that all the details over compensation and collection had yet to be finalised and he encouraged operators to watch developments carefully and be ready to act.
The HCA Forum continues today with sessions on retail & vending, a service model debate, a speech on artificial intelligence, the importance of supporting the catering service from a CEO’s perspective, the value and challenges of British sourcing and finally a keynote speech Aaron Phipps.