Head of Catering, Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Rob Strachan recently won the Hospital Caterers’ Association’s Hospital Caterer of the Year Award. As Head of Catering for Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust, he is responsible for catering services for patients, staff and hospital visitors across three sites – Andover War Memorial Hospital, Basingstoke and North Hampshire Hospital and Royal Hampshire County Hospital.
Rob started his career working in the merchant navy as a chef before becoming an NHS chef in 1999. He then left the NHS to qualify as a teacher and continued teaching until he joined Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust two years ago.
Tell us how and why you became a caterer?
I’ve always loved cooking. My first taste of hospital catering was when I worked at another NHS hospital for five years in the late 1990’s before getting into teaching and moving back to the NHS once I was equipped with further qualifications, experience and knowledge to run my own team.
Sharing my passion, making a difference to others and teaching the art of cookery is really rewarding. So, when the opportunity came up to work for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, I just knew it was for me. It was a chance to have an impact and initiate really positive changes for thousands of people through food and that’s exactly what I hope I’m doing.
How do you feel about winning the Hospital Caterers’ Association’s Hospital Caterer of the Year Award?
I’m thrilled! Before being presented with the award, someone tipped me off about the nomination and I genuinely didn’t think anything of it – to the point that when they said good luck afterwards, I thought they were talking about football! It didn’t sink in until the next day how prestigious the award is to win. It feels fantastic for our team and Trust to be recognised for our hard work and what we are trying to do.
How many meals do you provide a day?
We have 450 beds at Basingstoke, 350 at Winchester and 60 at Andover. Across all the areas we cater for, including the food we serve for our staff, we provide around 3,000 meals every day. We’re serving over one million meals a year!
You’ve recently introduced a new menu concept – what is it?
It’s a change in what patients are offered. Patients used to be given a different menu each day with a limited choice of options (four lunch choices with potatoes and vegetables) – sometimes this structure led to strange combinations and also excess waste. Our Trust are in the privileged position to be able to modernise what we do, which means that, following a successful trial in three wards at Basingstoke, patients now have the choice of 16 dishes every day including salads and sandwiches.
How do you make sure your meals support the wellbeing and recovery of patients?
We have great support from our nutrition and dietetics team who provide consistent nutritional advice for dietary management of disease and promotion of health which is all evidence based or follows best practice guidelines. It’s a big priority for us to ensure that our standards are high, and this isn’t only from a nutritional point of view – our food has to look and taste good for our patients so they are encouraged to eat.
How many staff do you have?
Within the catering department, there are over 100 of us! Across the wider Trust at Hampshire Hospitals, our staff group is around 8,600.
What are the biggest challenges facing hospital catering?
Breaking down the preconception that hospital chefs can‘t provide delicious food and that we don’t care how it tastes or looks. Hospital food has evolved so much over the years and what we offer here at Hampshire Hospitals is fresh – we pride ourselves on that. My team all work incredibly hard to provide great quality, tasty food for all and we do so because we care. We know there’s always room for improvement which is why we continually review our offer but we’re really proud of what we provide.
What are your three kitchen secrets for chefs new to hospitality?
• If you have a bad day cooking it doesn’t make you a bad cook.
• Learn from others and never be afraid to ask for help.
• Celebrate your wins – when you get good feedback or recognition for something you’ve cooked, give yourself a high five and a pat on the back!
Would you encourage others to work in the hospital catering sector?
Absolutely! The work I first did in hospital catering 25 years ago stood me in great stead and gave me a solid foundation of experience to build on with qualifications and knowledge.
What are your next goals?
A primary goal of mine is for Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to retain its ‘fresh cook’ status as I think that is so important. It’s also a real aspiration of mine for it to be renowned as an exemplary Trust for catering in the country. I make no secret of wanting to be the best.
