During the podcast Matthew highlighted the importance of using British food on public sector menus. He said: “British food is about quality [and] knowing what we are actually buying, working hand in hand with each other to then be able to make sure we are able to deliver the best of it and taking huge pride in what we actually do.”
Host of the podcast Derek Wright asked Matthew about how he would encourage university caterers to get involved with British Food Fortnight, which is taking place 20th September to 6th October 2024.
Matthew commented: “I would suggest that TUCO is probably the right place to start. When I was the chair about 90% of universities were in-house in terms of their catering offer. Really home in on what are the great things that could be done using British produce and how we communicate that.
“Universities have a wonderful opportunity to market pride in British produce. I would suggest it would be a really good idea to encourage the students themselves to develop recipes and share them using British produce. Then perhaps it could be put into production.”
British Food Fortnight celebrates the best of British cuisine across the public sector in schools, hospitals, care homes and universities. The campaign also encourages people to seek out British food and drink when they are shopping or eating out.
Speaking about industry collaboration, Matthew added: “Sharing best practice is probably the key to success of our organisation. As caterers we are obviously on the frontline and you don’t come up for air very often, so it’s important that conferences and events when we come together we are able to share that knowledge. British produce is at the heart of what we are trying to do in terms of our work around sustainability to ensure the quality of product.”