When it comes to cuisine, hospital food suffers a reputation second only to dreaded airline ready-meals, conjuring up images of grey meat and mushy vegetables served up in meagre portions in dismal plastic trays.
But at Alder Hey Children's Hospital, head chef John Worthington believes a hearty diet is vital to boosting the health – and spirits – of recovering youngsters. Chilli con carne with rice, bangers and mash, traditional scouse with braised red cabbage and crusty bread, jacket potatoes, sandwiches and soups are just a few of the dishes found on the ever-changing menus in each of the hospital's seven wards.
John, 62, said: "We try and make the best cuisine with the best ingredients we can. It's unlike anywhere else. We don't use any pre-packaged, warmed up in the microwave meals.
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"We have seven wards, and each ward has its own kitchen and its own chef. The food is freshly prepapred for each child; they always have a choice of fresh food and we try to make their stay in hospital a little easier and put a smile on their face.
"We're really keen on nutrition and making sure the kids eat health, but we're also in a hospital environment and the most important thing kids need is the calories to keep going. They can request whatever they want, from chicken korma to pizza. The idea of a ward-based chef programme is that the chef prepares whatever the child wants to eat, within dietary requirements."
John, from Halewood, started working at Alder Hey through an agency when the new hospital opened in 2016, and did not expect to be there long. But within a few weeks, he was made head chef, and the position became a full-time job.
He said: "When I was at school I always liked doing domestic science more than I did woodwork. It was something I always wanted to do. I knew from my last two years at school I was going to be a chef. I loved the creativity of it and the end product. You were making something to please people."
Throughout his 46-year career, he has worked "probably every style of chefing you can think of", from hotels to cruise ships, casinos in Cape Town, restaurants in New York, contract catering in Germany, and even cooking onboard a dive support ship in the middle of the North Sea.
Now he takes the lead organising Alder Hey's ten kitchens, including the Treetops restaurant, the Barista In The Park street food bar for staff, seven ward kitchens, and the kitchen in the Sunflower House mental health facility.
He said: "Giving a child a meal they want to eat puts a smile on their face. If you're in a hospital and you've had an operation or you're not very well and someone puts a plate full of food in front of you that you don't want to eat, that doesn't help.
"If you say to a child 'what do you want to eat?' their eyes light up.
"Christmas time is such a special time; the generosity of the public and the kindness we see is beyond works. It's a really unique, special place at Christmas, there's always a massive tree, everyone makes a fuss of the children and we try to make a fuss of the staff as well. We try to make that Christmas dinner the best they've ever had.
"I absolutely love it. Every job has bad days and good days. This job is busy, it's varied, there's always something happening, and if we can make a difference to a child's stay, my work has been worthwhile. That's what we strive for every day."
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