Two assistant head chefs at Stepping Hill Hospital have named as finalist in the national competition to find the best chef of the year.

Slavka Vaysilova and Michelle Robinson are up for ‘NHS Chefs of the Year’ after succeeding in regional heats of the competition which took place at regional heats held at Trafford College.

Their courses of their menu were a tumbet (similar to a ratatouille) as their plant-based dish, pulled beef wellington followed by chocolate and cherry brownie; which clearly impressed the judges. The winning dished were recently served in the hospital’s restaurant for staff, patients and visitors.

The next stage of the competition will be in Cannock in September, followed by the finals in York in October. 

The NHS Chef of the Year competition is run annually by NHS England to celebrate the best in health service catering from across the country. The idea is to showcase the high standards in nutrition, taste and sustainability which can be achieved in the NHS across the nation.

This is the second time chefs from Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital, have succeeded in the competition. In 2022, then- Assistant Head Chefs Erica Bell and Shelley Pearson-Smith were the overall national winners of the competition, being named as NHS Chefs of the Year, and receiving congratulations from the Great British Bake Off’s Prue Leith.

The Stockport NHS catering team have won a number of national and regional awards recognising their high standards in recent years, and were once again accredited as an ‘exemplar site’ by NHS England earlier in the year.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust Support Services Manager (Catering) Erica Bell said “The whole team are absolutely delighted for Slavka and Michelle and their success. I know from my own personal experience how tough the competition is, and they’ve very clearly stepped up to the plate. It was great for us and our patients and visitors to be able to taste their recipes themselves and see just how good they were. We wish Slavka and Michelle  all the best for when the reach the final in York in October.”