The NACC Podcast | National Association of Care Catering

A Dish Is Finished When There's Nothing Left to Take Away: James Brown on Judging, Food Trends, and Why Care Catering Is Harder Than Anyone Thinks James Brown grew up in Cornwall collecting lobsters from the harbour and running them up to the kitchen. He's since worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, overseen multi-site chains, and is now Group Executive Chef for UK and Ireland at Unilever Food S...

Simple, Well-Cooked Food Will Never Go Wrong: Marcus Appleton on Waste, Sustainability, and What the Judges Are Really Looking At Most judges are watching the plate. Marcus Appleton is watching the bin. As waste management and sustainability judge for the NACC Care Chef of the Year — and a man who spent 37 years in the armed forces before becoming Deputy CEO of a 280-room hotel for veterans — Marc...

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 com...

"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...

The Person Before the Plate: Simon Lawrence on Winning Care Chef of the Year, Helping Three Others Win It, and Why He's Still Learning 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 h...

Food Is Feeling: Ilona Tomza on Winning NACC Care Chef of the Year 2025 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 Ilona 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 ch...

Welcome to the NACC Podcast, the official podcast of The National Association of Care Catering. 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! Please don't forget to follow, subscribe, and share with your co...

Welcome to the NACC Podcast, the official podcast of The National Association of Care Catering. 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 abo...