Care charity Vegetarian for Life (VfL) has announced the winners of its 2023 Awards for Excellence in Vegetarian and Vegan Care Catering.
Twelve rising stars in vegetarian and vegan care catering were honoured in a prestigious ceremony held in the Houses of Parliament.
Categories ranged from Veggie Care Chef of the Year to Hospital Caterer of the Year, and with more nominations made than ever before the competition was fierce.
Amanda Woodvine, Chief Executive of VfL said: "It was really inspiring to hear the difference that people are making in care and hospital settings, and Vegetarian for Life’s honour to celebrate their achievements. We had a record number of entries for this year’s awards. One entrant even fought off competition to reach the finals not once but twice in the same category for his innovative vegan dishes. This is an outstanding achievement, and unheard of to date!"
The theme for this year's ceremony was 'Sustainability in the Care Sector', and proceedings commenced with inspiring talks and workshops on how care catering can be more environmentally sustainable.
This year’s winners were:
Veggie Care Chef of the Year
• Attila Volosinovszki, Cinnamon Care Collection
Veggie Wholesaler of the Year
• Bidfood
Hospital Caterer of the Year
• NHS Supply Chain: Food
Most Innovative Veggie Dish
• Juan Lopez, Birchwood Grange, Avery Healthcare for his vegan lemon panna cotta with blackberry-basil coulis.
The Beulah Charity Trust Special Recognition Award
• Presented by special guest, radio and TV presenter Wendy Turner-Webster, the winner was HC-One Catering & Housekeeping Support Service Team, which was described as having an unwavering commitment to enhancing the quality of life for older vegans and vegetarians. Over the past year, 1,030 staff across the organisation have signed up for Vegetarian for Life’s Memory Care Pledge – consisting of five good practice points to ensure that vegan or vegetarian residents experiencing capacity issues or cognitive losses will be offered a choice of meals, drinks and snacks that uphold their ethical beliefs.
