EAT UP: The food at Hinchingbrooke Hospital is officially award-winning after the catering crew picked up a Soil Association award.

The Huntingdon hospital was given a bronze award and was among just four hospitals in the country to be given accolades – two were given bronze and a third was silver.

Hinchingbrooke impressed with patient meals freshly prepared at the hospital using locally-sourced vegetables instead of frozen, and sourcing all meat from local farms.

Mike Bond, the Soil Association’s catering mark manager, said: “We were impressed by the quality of the food at Hinchingbrooke Hospital. Staff take huge care to ensure everything is freshly prepared, free from undesirable additives and better for animal welfare.

“Hinchingbrooke has demonstrated that it’s possible to achieve these high standards in a hospital environment.”

Since Circle took over the management of the hospital in February 2012, the food menus have been overhauled based on patient feedback.

The firm’s Michelin-trained head chef, Andreas Wingert, said: “The catering team at Hinchingbrooke is constantly working to make the quality of the food better than ever. That’s why everything we cook is freshly made.”

Circle said patient satisfaction with the food was at a high of 92 per cent.

INFORMATION: The Soil Association, a charity for organic and sustainable food and farming, awarded bronze to St Joseph’s Hospital, Newport, and Nottingham University Hospital Trust. The silver went to North Bristol Hospital Trust.