Chef instructors from the UK Defence Food Services Training Wing at Worthy Down, Winchester, undertook HSI/UK’s Forward Food training in January. The session covered the fundamentals of making plant-based dishes full of flavour, which typically have a lower environmental footprint than meat and dairy options.
The day’s cooking sessions were mentored by HSI/UK’s Forward Food chef Jenny Chandler, resulting in dishes such as oyster mushroom tacos with corn salsa, soba noodles in a rich umami broth topped with crunchy fresh vegetables, and creamy chickpea and butternut squash curry served with flatbreads and onion bhajis.
Drawing on her experience of cooking on ships and in remote locations, Jenny advised the chefs on how to create healthy vegan meals even when working in small kitchens with limited equipment, such as in the field or on naval ships at sea.
Charlie Huson, HSI/UK’s Forward Food programme manager, said: “Delivering a Forward Food workshop to the chef instructors at Worthy Down was a pleasure. They were keen to learn how to create tasty, healthy plant-based dishes and are now well-placed to pass on this knowledge to their students.
“With more and more people reducing their consumption of animal products, HSI/UK’s Forward Food programme is equipping chefs with the skills to meet the rising demand for plant-based options. By supporting organisations like the Ministry of Defence - which serves millions of meals to military personnel every week - to put more plants on plates, we can help reduce demand for factory farming and combat climate change.”
Reducing meat and dairy consumption presents a critical opportunity to decrease both the number of animals suffering on farms and the greenhouse gas emissions associated with animal-derived food.
More than 300 chefs have been trained through HSI’s Forward Food programme in the UK since its launch in 2017. By supporting chefs and catering managers to gain skills and confidence in delivering a variety of high-quality plant-based menu items, HSI/UK is improving the availability of plant-based options across the country and helping people make compassionate culinary choices.
Major Javed Johl RLC, Food Services Training Wing, added: “As diets of choice increase in popularity among the UK public, the Armed Forces must reflect this in our offer to service personnel.
“Upskilling our chef instructors at the Food Services Training Wing is the first step to achieving this. In collaboration with HSI/UK, we have laid the foundations of introducing a healthier and more sustainable diet across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force.”