Qualifying for Care: A New Recipe For Chef Training

The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) is enhancing its training packages to enhance the skills of chefs in the care sector with an apprenticeship and a new qualification.

The new Level 4 Senior Culinary Chef Apprenticeship is the first of its kind and is the result of a collaboration between the NACC and Umbrella Training. It is shaped around the responsibilities, sensitivities and impact of cooking in care environments and aims to address a long-standing gap in the professional development of team leaders.

Neel Radia, chairman, NACC, says “Senior chefs working in care homes require a wide range of specialist skills including nutritional expertise, dietary knowledge and leadership ability and this new apprenticeship addresses that. For years this level of the workforce has been under-invested in, particularly in the health and social care sectors. It supports the care sector to attract, retain and nurture culinary professionals and enables organisations to use the government’s skills and growth levy to upskill their senior chefs.”

What does the training include?

The training covers advanced culinary skills and menu development expertise, with additional social care masterclasses. Topics include the Care Home Digest guidelines for care homes, IDDSI and texture modified diets, sustainability in care catering and hydration management. It is delivered in monthly online workshops, as well as in person sessions for practical classes. At the end of the course, participants complete an ‘End Point Assessment’ which includes a business project and professional discussion.

“This apprenticeship is an opportunity to elevate the profession while making a positive, lasting impact on the people who rely on these services every day,” says Neel.

Sam Coulstock from Umbrella Training adds “With this new apprenticeship, we have created a clear and aspirational route for chefs to grow, specialise and progress. Most importantly, it is about improving the experience of care home residents by supporting confident, well-trained chefs who understand not just food, but the people they are cooking for.”

New Qualification for Chefs in Health & Social Care

In addition, the NACC has launched a new qualification not only for care home chefs and catering teams, but also those working in hospitals. The Level 2 Specialist Award for Chefs in Health and Social Care is a collaboration between the NACC, Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) and the Confederation of Tourism & Hospitality (CTH). Neel says “This was originally launched in 2018 during my previous team as national chairman but with no funding, we struggled to get colleges to take the course on. When I became chairman again in 2023, we revisited the qualification and have now made it more affordable and accessible.”

Aimed at catering staff including supervisors, managers and assistants, the training is online, although the practical assessment
is conducted face to face.

The first module covers how nutrition and hydration affects health and wellbeing and how to apply this to patients while working alongside other multi-professional roles. The second module teaches the importance of menu planning, food preparation and serving food and drink to people with special dietary requirements.

Iain Robertson, national chairman, Hospital Caterers Association says, “This new qualification is exactly what’s needed to give our teams the knowledge to confidently cater for the vast array of specific diets we experience in health and social care.”