Hospital chefs win south west heats of NHS Chef of the Year

Chefs from the Royal Bournemouth Hospital have taken home first place at the south west regional heat of the national NHS Chef of the Year competition.

In the heat, Endri Setyawati and Dave King were challenged with creating a gourmet three-course meal in line with hospital food budgets in just 90 minutes.

They cooked up fresh tortellini with a butternut squash and sage filling on a tomato sauce with a herb oil for their starter, pan fried cod with crushed new potatoes, roasted radish and broccoli served with a cream and caper sauce for the main, and de-constructed strawberry cheesecake as dessert.

Beating the competition on criteria such as nutritional balance, suitability for NHS patients, creativity and tool skills, Endri and Dave have now progressedo the next stage of the competition, which takes place in Birmingham.

Dave said: “Prior to the event the emotional impact of the pandemic was really hitting us hard. The competition gave me and the team an opportunity to focus on something new and something to be proud of. Working with Endri has been inspiring. Her drive, leadership and inspiration has reignited my passion for cooking and given me a new lease of life.

“Winning has really brought back a buzz to the catering department. While we did the cooking on the day, we couldn’t have achieved this without the support of all of our colleagues.” 

NHS Chef of the Year highlights the talent behind the hospital canteens, and the skills of the chefs who choose to work in the NHS. While the competition has strict rules for dishes to be suitable for an NHS setting, it also encourages chefs to showcase skills which often go unseen during their day-to-day work preparing meals in high quantities for colleagues and patients.

Andy Whittingham, interim head of catering operations at University Hospitals Dorset, said: “I am incredibly proud of Endri and Dave. They gave their own time and effort to the competition and really got on board and have shown all the behaviours that we as a trust really value. I wish them all the very best in the next event.”