Causeway Hospital chefs win top UK-wide award

Two cooks from Causeway Hospital in Coleraine have won a top award at a UK-wide competition.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Apr 2024, 10:49 BST
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Darren Taggart and Angela Dickson were awarded ‘best in class’, the highest possible award, in the NHS 4 Nations Chef Challenge.

It was held at ExCeL in London as part of the prestigious International Salon Culinaire during the recent Food, Drink and Hospitality Week showcase.

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Working together as a team, Darren and Angela had to produce a three-course meal for two people, within a budget of £6 per person. Alongside this, they were judged on hygiene, working practices, sustainable procurement and food waste.

Darren Taggart, Causeway Hospital Head Cook and Angela Dickson, Causeway Hospital Cook, celebrate their success at the NHS 4 Nations Chef Challenge with Karen McLaughlin, Chair of the NI Branch of the Hospital Caterers Association and General Manager for Catering and Domestic Services within the Northern Trust. CREDIT NORTHERN TRUSTDarren Taggart, Causeway Hospital Head Cook and Angela Dickson, Causeway Hospital Cook, celebrate their success at the NHS 4 Nations Chef Challenge with Karen McLaughlin, Chair of the NI Branch of the Hospital Caterers Association and General Manager for Catering and Domestic Services within the Northern Trust. CREDIT NORTHERN TRUST
Darren Taggart, Causeway Hospital Head Cook and Angela Dickson, Causeway Hospital Cook, celebrate their success at the NHS 4 Nations Chef Challenge with Karen McLaughlin, Chair of the NI Branch of the Hospital Caterers Association and General Manager for Catering and Domestic Services within the Northern Trust. CREDIT NORTHERN TRUST

With only 60-minutes on the clock to prepare, cook and present their dishes, the pair impressed the judges to emerge victorious.

Their winning menu featured carrot and lentil soup with ginger, a roasted cod main course served with crusted baby potatoes, green pea mash and smoked tomato and dill sauce, followed by raspberry fool for dessert with lemon curd and a flake meal biscuit.

Offering her congratulations, Karen McLaughlin, the Northern Trust’s General Manager for Catering and Domestic Services, said: “I am so pleased that Darren and Angela’s hard work has paid off, and this is much-deserved recognition for them both.

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“It’s a great endorsement for our Catering Service as a whole, and it highlights the quality and calibre of our chefs who are committed to providing our patients with quality, nutritious meals every day.

“Being able to take part in a competition like this helps to celebrate the important contribution our caterers make to healthcare, and to come home with the top award is a huge achievement.”

Related topics:ColeraineFoodLondon