Phil’s energy, enthusiasm, drive and readiness to embrace new ideas have been the hallmarks of a very successful career. A close colleague describes the impact Phil has had as ‘giving NHS chefs the chance to shine, and proudly show the world what they can do’.
A past chair of the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA), he was asked by the Government in 2019 to chair a Hospital Food Review and later joined NHS England to try to help trusts implement the recommendations of the review.
Since then he has helped set up the NHS Chef Competition in England, the NHS Chefs Academy and also championed the cause of improving food for children in hospital, along with their parents and carers.
It was a successful awards night for Shire Services who picked up the Nutrition and Healthcare Award alongside the Marketing Award for the second consecutive year.
Yeovil District Hospital were also double winners after Simply Serve Ltd won the Hospital Catering Award and Mathieu Eke emerged victorious in the Special Contribution Award.
A new category for 2025 was the Prison Catering Award, which was given to Morag Hopkins and & HMP Haverigg Catering Team. The judges were particularly impressed by the use of produce from their own farm and indeed their own ‘smokery’ as well as the work they had done supporting the local community.
Argyll and Bute Council won the Sustainability Award after they teamed up with local start-up Wild Jura to use the wild deer culled each year on the island for school meals. Together they have created dishes that feature on the menus in six schools on the islands of Jura and Islay, including venison burger and venison meatballs.
On the night a charity raffle raised £6,780 for the Clink Charity, which is renowned for reducing reoffending by training and rehabilitating people in prison. Magician Ben Hanlin was the awards night host to entertain the 650 attendees from across the catering industry.
The Public Sector Catering Awards celebrated winners across the sector from education, healthcare and care homes to prisons, universities, the armed forces and catering colleges. The full list of winners:
- Armed Forces Caterer of the Year Award (sponsored by Ecolog): Petty Officer Joe Whitlock
- Care Catering Award (sponsored by Cereal Partners): Care UK
- Catering College Award (sponsored by AroundNoon): Eastleigh College
- Catering Manager of the Year Award (sponsored by Rational): Joanne Fitzgerald - Northamptonshire Health Care Trust
- Chef of the Year Award (sponsored by Unox): Matt Lord – ESS
- Contract Caterer of the Year Award (sponsored by Lockhart Catering Equipment): Dolce
- Education Catering Award (sponsored by Premier Foods): Nourish Contract Catering Ltd
- Health and Nutrition Award (sponsored by Bidfood): Shire Services
- Hospital Catering Award (sponsored by Hobart Service): Simply Serve Ltd - Yeovil District Hospital
- Innovation Award (sponsored by Carlsberg Britvic): Reboot Café, Queen’s University Belfast
- Marketing Award (sponsored by Wafflemeister): Shire Services
- Prison Catering Award (sponsored by Winterhalter): Morag Hopkins & HMP Haverigg Catering Team
- Special Contribution Award (sponsored by Middleton Foods): Mathieu Eke - Simply Serve Ltd
- Sustainability Award (sponsored by Panasonic): Argyll and Bute Council
- Team of the Year Award (sponsored by Essential Cuisine): Health & Independent Living Support (HILS)
- Training and Apprenticeship Award (sponsored by Brakes): Forward with Marcus Wareing Training Programme
- University Catering Award (sponsored by TUCO Foundation): University of Southampton Catering Department
- Unsung Hero Award (sponsored by Nisbets): Kirsty Rafferty – Sodexo
- Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions): Philip Shelley