Much has been said recently about the quality of hospital food and the balance that catering companies need to find between nutrition and budget. Food matters Live, a new event, aims to delve into this issue and reveal how the industry can tackle these challenges.
Food Matters Live takes place at London’s ExCeL from 18 to 20 November and is a unique cross-sector forum that has been specifically designed to give catering professionals the opportunity to meet and collaborate with key figures from across the health, food and drink sectors to understand and discuss potential solutions to this urgent issue on the UK’s health agenda.
Catering for Health
The attraction, which is called Catering for Health, will investigate how caterers and chefs can provide healthier menu choices that taste good. It will also house a cooking demonstration on Tuesday 18 November by ISS, which will showcase how the industry can balance nutrition, taste and more importantly, budget. Sponsor of the attraction and supplier of products designed to help chefs in calorie reduction and salt and sugar replacements, Ingredion will also be preparing a range of desserts. Other industry leaders appearing at the show include Subway, Sodexo, appetite and Compass Group.
Andy Jones, Service Development Director at ISS and National Chair of the Hospital Caterers Association, will be leading a discussion at the end of the first day on how catering can help end malnutrition, the benefits of nutrition and the importance of hydration. He feels passionately about the challenges facing the industry.
He said “Creating healthy meals on a budget has always been a challenge. Caterers need to move beyond the idea that one solution fits all. Patients needs and desires vary wildly so it is important that menus and options reflect this.
“In addition, it is imperative that as an industry, we educate patients on what is good for them. I’m still surprised when I meet consumers that don’t understand what constitutes healthy eating. These are big issues to tackle but I hope to start tackling these challenges during my time at Food Matters Live.”
Food Matters Live is set to attract more than 8,000 visitors from the worlds of food retail, manufacturing, nutritional research, academia and local and national government. The event is free to attend.
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