Health-conscious businesses attend free catering workshops

16th September 2010, 12:52pm

Surjan Jolly, executive chef at The London Marriot, Canary Wharf, hosted a free healthier catering workshop, organised by the Tower Hamlets Healthy Borough Programme, earlier this week in a bid to tackle obesity.

Businesses that attended included Dockland Diner, Cruising Association and Cafe Reconnect.

The event, part of the Food for Health Awards, demonstrated to local cooks the best way to prepare and cook healthier food by using fresh vegetables and polyunsaturated vegetable cooking oils such as rapeseed and sunflower.

The local award scheme acknowledges food businesses that serve dishes with reduced sugar, fat, salt and promote healthier eating at their eateries.

Chef Jolly said: "If the cooks embrace even 10 percent of what they've been taught today that would be a good start. We all have a responsibility to provide healthy options on our menus."

Altan Ahmet, principal environmental health officer at Tower Hamlets Council said: "We want to ensure people can enjoy healthier food when eating out including at fast-food takeaways. By offering free healthier catering workshops to local food businesses we hope to make it even easier for them to improve their skills and knowledge.

"Our next Healthier Catering workshop for food businesses is on 25 October; to book just call 020 7364 0332." 

The Tower Hamlets Healthy Borough Programme is piloting environmental approaches to make it easier for children and families to be more physically active and eat more healthily.

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