Focusing on the importance of food, nutrition and positive mealtime experiences as part of quality care, entrants are challenged to create an appealing and delicious two-course menu (main and dessert) appropriate for people in a care setting.
The combined food cost for both courses should be no more than £4.50 per head based on three portions and the meal should be nutritionally balanced and incorporate one of the Unilever Food Solution’s products. Each contestant will be given 90 minutes to produce the meal.
Head judge Steve Munkley commented: “I am excited to see what the great chefs of the care industry can do and I wish all competitors the best of luck. After 45 years in the catering industry as a chef I now act as consultant on many different projects.”
The Care Chef of the Year final will take place on 1st October 2024 at Loughborough College. The winner will receive £600 plus the trophy, a years membership to the Craft Guild of Chefs and a prize from Unilever Food Solutions.
Neel Radia, chair of the NACC, added: “I encourage you to enter your amazing chefs and showcase the culinary excellence you deliver. It is not only open to those working in care homes but extends to local authorities and other care organisations, including hospices.
“The NACC Care Chef of the Year competition is the longest standing care chef competition in the UK and continually challenges people who operate within the care sector to create innovative and exciting recipes whilst adhering to a strict budget and meeting the nutritional needs of their clientele. Year-on-year, it continues to raise the profile of catering in the care sector and the achievements and opportunities for those working within it.”
For more information or to download the entry brochure, visit here.