NACC Care Chef of the Year Competition | National Association of Care Catering

The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) Care Chef of the Year competition provides an excellent platform to recognise the excellence of Chefs working in our sector. The competition provides opportunity for a member of your team to achieve this accolade and join the exclusive club of title holders to be crowned Care Chef of the Year.

It is not only open to those working in care homes but also extends to local authorities and other care organisations including hospices. The NACC Care Chef competition is the longest standing care chef competition in the UK, that continually challenges people who operate within the care sector to devise innovative and exciting recipes whilst adhering to a strict budget and meeting the nutritional needs of their clientele. It aspires to raise the profile of catering in the care sector and the excellence achieved by those working within it nationally.

Have you watched the Chef of the Year competition before and thought that you, or one of your team, could do as well – or even better?
Well, the hunt is on to find this year’s top chef, who will follow in the footsteps of the 2023 Champion, Brian Preston.

We encourage participation in this competition as it is a very effective means of raising the profile of care catering, and puts presentation and creativity skills to the test. It is a very useful tool in the workplace with regard to staff development.

This year’s competition is kindly sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions and Worshipful Company of Cooks.

PREVIOUS WINNERS

2000 - Cliff Hamilton	2006 - Garry Maundrill	2012 - Ellie Cook	2018 - John Grover
2001 - Paula McAllister	2007 - Partick Moore	2013 -Simon Lawrence	2019 - Martin McKee
2002 - Amanda Steel	2008 - Gareth Cartledge	2014 - Jenny-May Smith	2020 - Tim Ware
2003 - Barbara Walker	2009 - Mark Wilkinson	2015 - Oliver Smith	2021 - Aaron Watson
2004 - Judy Reynolds	2010 - Craig Dewhurst	2016 - Alex Morte	2022 - Chris Pickard
2005 - Gary Brailsford	2011 - Malcolm Shipton	2017 - Stuart Middleton

COMPETITION OVERVIEW

The competition is open to all chefs/cooks in the care sector. Following on from the success of the format from our 2023 competition, we will continue with requiring two finalists from each region to go forward to the final on the 1^st October 2024 at a venue to be confirmed.

Entries continue to be sought from all sectors of the care market and both NACC members and non-members* are welcome to take part throughout the UK.

With the 24 previous winners of this illustrious title proudly displaying their award in their place of work, are you the next to generate a winning recipe?

WHAT IS REQUIRED?
We are looking for a two course menu, main course and dessert, suitable for service users in a care setting. The combined food cost for both courses should be no more than £4.50 per head based on three portions and the meal should be nutritionally balanced and incorporate one of the Unilever Food Solution’s products as listed in the competition rules 9.

Each contestant will be given 90 minutes to produce the meal.

JUDGING
Our panel of experts will view your entries and regional cook offs will take place in June and then the best two from each of the six NACC regions will be invited to a cook off in the final on 1^st October 2024. The location of the final will be confirmed closer to the time. All entries must state the client group they are suitable for, but will be served in a competition style for the final. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

REGIONAL HEATS 2024

Region	Date	Venue
Wales	10^th June 2024	Cardiff & Vale College
Midlands	12^thJune 2024	Loughborough College
South East	17^th June 2024	Unilever Food Solutions Kingston Office
South West	19^th June 2024	Exeter University
North	27^th June 2024	Middlesborough College
Scotland	28^th June 2024	City of Glasgow College

2024 Nomination Brochure | Rules & Criteria

Nutritional Guidance

Unilever Food Product List