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Hospital chefs in top taste league

19/11/2002

OUR award-winning hospital chefs have done it again.

According to an audit of standards in kitchen and dining room, they are now two percentage points better off than last year putting them in the top 20 of the country's finest.

Macclesfield Hospital achieved a top 20 ranking for the quality shown in introducing the Lloyd Grossman-improved menu programme.

John Rimmer, catering manager, said: "We are absolutely delighted. In the audit section we got 100 per cent in two sections. And in the Lloyd Grossman section we feel pleased that meals we have selected or adapted have gone down so well here."

Mr Rimmer, who is also a chef, has 69 staff at Macclesfield and Congleton - 18 of them are chefs.

The idea of the Lloyd Grossman programme is that hospitals can pick and choose from dishes. The Macclesfield chefs pick about three a day which are indicated on the patient menus with a chef's hat.

In last year's audit by the organisation 'Support Training and Services plc', the hospital's contract catering service ISS achieved an overall score of 92 per cent. This year it has increased to 94per cent.

The biggest jump of seven per cent was in the cleanliness and efficiency of the restaurant. And although there was a slight reduction in production levels and vending, there was an overall score of 94.

Mr Rimmer said there are plans to bring in partitions in the dining room, making smaller groups of tables seem more like an intimate restaurant rather than a school hall.

He said: "It is very good for the staff to get this recognition. They work very hard.

"They are a cheerful, committed team, who like nothing better than helping people enjoy their food."