Following the success of the award-winning Chef’s Academy, which provides training for NHS hospital chefs, the newly launched Skills Academy aims to raise the profile of NHS catering assistants by providing new skillsets for their personal and professional development.
The free one-day programme incorporates hospitality operations, teamwork and knife skills, as well as training on nutrition, allergens and food waste. The training takes place at various venues throughout the country.
Michael Sharp, Culinary Specialist at NHS Supply Chain: Food, says,
“There’s not much focused training available for catering assistants to develop their skills. They do a lot of groundwork such as portioning, serving and prepping the kitchens, so it’s important to give something back to them. Without them, the whole operation falls apart. The idea for this training came to me when I was an executive chef at a hospital in Bristol for two years during lockdown. I utilised the catering assistants as much as I could, as they are the unsung heroes of the catering operation at hospitals.”
Michael is the lead trainer, although the training is delivered as a team. The session begins with an ‘ice breaker’ featuring a recipe using bananas. “This gets them communicating with each other,” says Michael. “We ask them to write on the banana what’s important to them at work and outside work and get them to discuss this. We identified there were lots of bananas going to waste in hospitals, so we demonstrate a flapjack recipe using the bananas, which they replicate. This shows attendees there is something they can do with bananas to save on food waste.”
While the flapjacks are in the oven, there is a theory session hosted by Idrees Anwar, Lead Dietitian and Pirianka L-Montfort, nutrition compliance manager. This includes education about allergens. “Attendees are given some everyday ingredients and asked to identify the allergens,” says Michael. “This raises awareness for products like soya.”
Mastering Portion Control, Recipes, and Essential Kitchen Skills
Other topics covered include portion control and how to serve the correct amount of food so it looks appetising to eat. Basic recipes using fresh ingredients, which require no cooking, are demonstrated. Michael says, “All the recipes have been nutritionally analysed so they are suitable to serve in hospitals. We show delegates how to be more adventurous with salads, and to make dishes as fresh as possible. For example, we section out ingredients on a tray in a line and make the dish the next day, rather than mix it all together and then serve it the following day when it won’t be as fresh.” Michael also presents a session on knife skills covering knife safety, how to sharpen a knife and how to work efficiently on a chopping board.
Michael hopes the course gives catering assistants more skills and confidence to support chefs and develop their careers in the care catering sector.
