An apprentice chef at Stockport NHS Trust has won the 'highest accolade' in NHS catering.

Nineteen-year-old Joe Omolo picked up the NHS Chef of the Year award at NHS England's chef competition.

Together with his teammate Nedko Rusev (from Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Trust), he prepared a winning menu of saganaki, cauliflower steak with romesco sauce, hake with cauliflower sauce, and fig cake.

Joe and Nedko's partnership represents the first time ever that two NHS trusts have merged to form a team in this competition.

They paired up after both of their original cooking partners had dropped out for personal reasons. Joe had previously been competing with partner Ian Richards from the Stockport NHS catering team, and they had reached the finals stage together.

Joe preparing food during the competition (Image - Stockport NHSFT)

Joe had joined the NHS following his mother's advice about the opportunities available there.

He has been training as a dysphagia chef, while preparing for an assistant head chef apprenticeship.

Stockport NHS Trust said Joe represents 'the future' of NHS catering, and follows in a long line of other successful chefs from the trust.

Phil Shelley, NHS England's national leader for food, said the 2025 event was 'outstanding'.

"The quality of the dishes continues to improve each year, with development and growth of the chefs becoming key throughout", he said.

"The relationships with the mentors goes from strength to strength, providing confidence in recipe development and knowledge around balance of meal choices."

Erica Bell, Stockport NHS Trust's service manager for catering, added: "We're all hugely proud of Joe and his achievement. He has shown his worth in a really tough competition against strong competitors across the country.

"Together with Nedko, he has shown himself capable of the absolute highest standards in NHS catering."

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