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

Food Is Feeling: Ilona Tomza on Winning NACC Care Chef of the Year 2025What 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 chef's career.About our GuestIlona Tomza didn't take the conventional route to becoming NACC Care Chef of the Year 2025. She arrived in England at 17 as a waitress, challenged the quality of the food being served, and was cooking professionally within six months. Years of gastropub work followed before she made the move into care catering — and everything changed.In this inaugural episode, host Rob Spence talks to Ilona about the philosophy that drives her: that in care settings, food becomes one of the last remaining sources of joy for residents."We cook people's last meals," she says — and she means it in the most profound way.The episode covers Ilona's winning dish — a coq au vin without the wine, plated with dementia in mind so every ingredient is visible and residents can make their own choices.It covers the nerves, the waiting, and the moment the result was announced. And it covers what happened next: ITV with Kate Garraway, a Windsor Castle reception with the King and Queen, and a growing list of opportunities she's grabbed with both hands.Now confirmed as a judge and live demo chef at the 2026 NACC awards, Ilona's advice to anyone thinking of entering is simple: "Just apply. What's the worst that could happen?"Subscribe and leave a review — it helps more people in care catering find the show.The National Association of Care Catering (NACC) unites, supports and represents everyone working in and associated with catering in the UK care sector. It is recognised as a respected source of information and opinion for the dynamic and growing area of care catering. For more than 30 years, it has been committed to raising standards of care catering and championing the positive impact nutrition, hydration and mealtimes have on the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of the elderly and vulnerable in care settings.To learn about The National Association of Care Catering, please visit: https://www.thenacc.co.uk/A massive thank you to the Sponsors of the Care Chef of the Year:Unilever Food SolutionsLockhart Catering EquipmentRationalProcurement for CareThe Worshipful Company of CooksPowered by Paragon Creative Studios Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.