12 October 2026

The Caterer’s Foodservice Cateys recognise outstanding individuals, teams and businesses across the foodservice industry. The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Royal Lancaster London on 9 October.

Innovation Award

Leanne Turk, Head of Culinary Development at Foodbuy Group, has led work to improve children’s food and dining experiences in hospital.

Working with Sophie’s Legacy, a charity dedicated to improving the experiences of children and families in hospital, Leanne and the Foodbuy team engaged with dietitians, nutritionists, hospital chefs, young patients and parents to better understand their needs.

The team developed a collection of nutritious and enjoyable dishes and snacks that children could access throughout the day. Hospitals serving the meals reported increased uptake and reductions in plate waste of up to 50%, as well as fewer children progressing to tube feeding.

Foodbuy has also delivered training to more than 500 chefs across England through its work with the NHS Chefs Academy. The initiative helped inform Sophie’s Legacy’s first recipe book, More Please, produced in collaboration with the NHS and now used in more than 150 hospitals across England. Its success subsequently led to the development of a second publication, Even More Please.

Foodservice Cateys judge Chris Stern said: “This entry really stood out as not only exemplifying true innovation, but also for doing real good. Its scope and scalability really impresses and still the movement is growing. An inspirational entry and a worthy winner.”