Thank you for joining us for The Official NACC Podcast; the audio home of The National Association of Catering. We have a whole host of episodes due to be released over the coming weeks, and we cannot wait to share these episodes with you!
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"Food Is So Much More Than the Nutrition It Contains: Alison Smith on Judging Nutrition in a Competition Kitchen"
What does the nutrition judge actually look for when a care chef's dish lands in front of her? In this episode, Rob Spence sits down with Alison Smith, dietitian and nutritional judge for the NACC Care Chef of the Year. Alison pulls back the curtain on the judging process — what gets competitors marked down, what makes a dish genuinely stand out, and why the dessert might be the most nutritionally important element on the plate.
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If a Judge Comes Back for a Second Mouthful, He Liked It: Steve Munkley MBE on Judging, Mentoring, and the Future of Care Catering
What do the judges actually look for — and what sends them walking away after one bite? In this episode, Rob Spence sits down with Steve Munkley MBE, Head Judge of the NACC Care Chef of the Year and Vice President of the Craft Guild of Chefs. Steve shares the inside track on the competition, the common mistakes that cost competitors marks, and why the first fifteen minutes of the final tell him almost everything he needs to know.
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Simon Lawrence won the NACC Care Chef of the Year in 2013 — and the day after, he was on a call about budget deficits. In this episode he talks to host Rob Spence about the twenty-year journey that got him there: from helping his mum run theme nights in sheltered housing, through three attempts at the competition and a highly commended, a second place, and finally the title. He also talks about what winning actually meant — not the achievement itself, but using it to help three other chefs go on and win it too.
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What does it really mean to cook for someone in the last chapter of their life? In the first episode of the NACC podcast, Care Chef of the Year 2025 Ilana Tomza shares the philosophy, the competition dish, and the resident moment that changed how she sees every plate she serves — plus what winning really opens up for a care chef's career.
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With episodes coming out fortnightly, we interview guests every episode to learn more about care catering, changes that are happening in the sector, latest news, events and much more.
We will cover everything surrounding the dynamic and growing area of care catering.
If you are looking to learn more about the positive impact nutrition, hydration and mealtimes have on the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of the elderly and vulnerable in care settings, then you have found the right podcast!
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