Within the public sector almost three billion meals are served each year to people in schools, hospitals, universities, prisons, care homes and the Armed Forces.
On Tuesday 19 November Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall will kick-off the seminar programme by discussing issues in the public sector catering industry including food waste, obesity and plastic waste.
Charlie Huson from the Humane Society International (HSI) will encourage caterers across the public sector and hospitality industry to use more plant based menus by explaining the impact of livestock and farming on the environment and public health.
At 1pm Professor David Russell, a foodservice consultant, will share what he has learned throughout his career to help UK public sector caterers improve their service.
Andy Jones will chair a panel discussion involving members of the Public Sector Catering Most Influential list. Alexia Robinson, founder of British Food & Drink Fortnight will host a seminar on local sourcing- buying locally to manage food cost and supply issues.
The Share Zone offers an interactive demonstration area showcasing the skills of caterers from the public sector. The Share Zone features an allergen awareness session hosted by Steven Cross the winner of the LACA School Chef of the Year.
Candice Brown, Love British Food Ambassador and Great British Bake Off winner, will promote the use of British products during her demonstration, while Jenny Chandler from HSI will explore her love of vegan food.
The final demonstration of the day will be from TUCO Chef’s Challenge 2019 winners Mark Donovan and Doug Shewan, University of Aberdeen. They will demonstrate their kitchen skills and talk about the challenges they have faced catering within strict budget constraints.
Prue Leith will present her keynote address on Wednesday 20 November at 11am. The Great British Bake Off judge recently joined the hospital food improvement review team, which aims to increase the quality of patient food in hospitals. She will update visitors on the progress of the review and look at ways the public sector can combat the ‘obesity bomb’.
Throughout the second day of the Public Sector Catering Expo there will be four additional seminar discussions in the Knowledge Zone. Lee Petar of Oakhill Communications will give his views on the current political situation and how it is likely to impact the public sector caterers.
Amy Fetzer from WRAP will host a seminar session highlighting the need for the public sector to lead the way in reducing food waste. During her presentation she will include an update about the Guardians of the Grub campaign. Molly Shaher from PACE and Camilla Woods from Hospitality complete the seminar line-up on the second day.
On Wednesday the Share Zone will host four demonstrations including Steven Cross LACA School Chef of the Year, Stewart Middleton from Mealmore Ltd., Andy Holcroft from the Bug Farm Company and Chanel Bentley from Birmingham Women’s Hospital.
The programme and features have been developed to engage with the sector at all levels from chief executives, through to unit catering managers and chefs.
The key supporters of the inaugural PSC Expo include the Hospital Caterers Association, LACA, NACC, PACE and TUCO.
For additional information and to register for FREE, visit: pscexpo.co.uk