News

In an incredibly tight-fought category Nourish won because of the creative and innovative initiatives they had developed. Significant growth as an organisation hadn’t distracted them from the key pillars of  delivering an exceptional service and product, developing brands that delivered to target markets and prioritising staff and consumer social responsibility.

Argyll and Bute Council won the Sustainability Award after they teamed up with local start-up Wild Jura to use the wild deer culled each year on the island for school meals. Together they have created dishes that feature on the menus in six schools on the islands of Jura and Islay, including venison burger and venison meatballs.

It was a successful awards night for Shire Services who picked up the Nutrition and Healthcare Award alongside the Marketing Award for the second consecutive year. Dolce was also amongst the victors, having been named as the Contract Caterer of the Year Award winner.  

A clever marketing and engagement strategy has radically improved the quality of the nutrition served in Shire schools. Judges particularly loved the Potato Growing Club and Strawberry Growing Week which combined eating of healthy food with education. Other initiatives including the Super Monthly Salad Programme were keeping pupils involved and helping to drive the right healthy choices.

Shire Services launched its 8-ft tall mascot Sammy Sweetcorn having negotiated sponsorship from a major supplier. Sammy visits schools to promote healthy eating, attend school assemblies, and parent/pupil taster sessions. Pupils love Sammy and schools he has visited have seen meal income rise 19%.

Dolce claimed top spot in the ProVeg UK Contract Caterer Ranking for its dedication to plant-forward, climate-friendly catering. The company has also enacted creditable initiatives to cut food waste and energy usage, introduced innovative street food options, and achieved steady growth in school contracts and meals served.

The full list of winners:

• Armed Forces Caterer of the Year Award (sponsored by Ecolog): Petty Officer Joe Whitlock
• Care Catering Award (sponsored by Cereal Partners): Care UK
• Catering College Award (sponsored by AroundNoon): Eastleigh College
• Catering Manager of the Year Award (sponsored by Rational): Joanne Fitzgerald - Northamptonshire Health Care Trust
• Chef of the Year Award (sponsored by Unox): Matt Lord – ESS
• Contract Caterer of the Year Award (sponsored by Lockhart Catering Equipment): Dolce
• Education Catering Award (sponsored by Premier Foods): Nourish Contract Catering Ltd
• Health and Nutrition Award (sponsored by Bidfood): Shire Services
• Hospital Catering Award (sponsored by Hobart Service): Simply Serve Ltd - Yeovil District Hospital
• Innovation Award (sponsored by Carlsberg Britvic): Reboot Café, Queen’s University Belfast
• Marketing Award (sponsored by Wafflemeister): Shire Services
• Prison Catering Award (sponsored by Winterhalter): Morag Hopkins & HMP Haverigg Catering Team
• Special Contribution Award (sponsored by Middleton Foods): Mathieu Eke - Simply Serve Ltd
• Sustainability Award (sponsored by Panasonic): Argyll and Bute Council
• Team of the Year Award (sponsored by Essential Cuisine): Health & Independent Living Support (HILS)
• Training and Apprenticeship Award (sponsored by Brakes): Forward with Marcus Wareing Training Programme
• University Catering Award (sponsored by TUCO Foundation): University of Southampton Catering Department
• Unsung Hero Award (sponsored by Nisbets): Kirsty Rafferty – Sodexo
• Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions): Philip Shelley