Our hospital restaurant has been rewarded for its commitment to providing customers with healthier food choices.
Following an assessment by East Suffolk Council’s Food and Safety Team, our Aubergine Restaurant has been given a Gold ‘Eat Out, Eat Well’ award. This is the highest accreditation available through the ‘Eat Out, Eat Well’ scheme, run by Public Health Suffolk (Suffolk County Council) and supported by district councils.
Carried out on behalf of Public Health Norfolk and Great Yarmouth Borough Council, the award recognises our commitment to offering healthier options and promoting the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
The award was presented by Cllr Mary Rudd, East Suffolk Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Health and Cllr James Reeder, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Prevention. Both councillors are also on the Board of Governors for the hospital.
Cllr Rudd said: “The James Paget University Hospital provides essential healthcare for many East Suffolk residents. Following an assessment by our Food and Safety officers, anyone visiting the hospital can rest assured that healthier options are available within the restaurant and that the hospital staff are committed to providing healthier food choices.”
Leigh Beuttell, Facilities Manager at the James Paget University Hospital said: “Our talented team works incredibly hard to produce choices for our customers that are nutritious, healthy and tasty; a balance that is not always easy to strike. With quality and nutrition at the very core of our business model, we are absolutely delighted to have received an award that offers us, and our customers, assurance that we are getting that balance just right.”
Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Prevention, Cllr James Reeder said: “I am delighted that the Aubergine Restaurant has been recognised with gold by the Eat Out Eat Well award. This is testament to their hard work and demonstrates commitment to providing healthier options for patients, visitors and staff. They join West Suffolk Hospital in also being awarded gold, and I hope Ipswich Hospital may soon follow suit.”
The ‘Eat Out, Eat Well’ scheme, along with its partner scheme designed especially for takeaway businesses ‘Take Out, Eat Well’, support local businesses in making it easier for customers to buy healthier food and drinks. Businesses who apply for either scheme will receive a visit from the Council’s Environmental Health Officers who will inspect the premises and assess against criteria based on the principles of a healthy diet.
Since being launched in 2016, over 40 businesses in East Suffolk have received ‘Eat Out Eat Well’ awards with a further 13 businesses in the district receiving ‘Take Out Eat Well’ awards.
Any restaurant, pub, café or food retailer in Suffolk is eligible to apply for either award, free of charge. Customers are advised to look for the ‘Eat Out Eat Well’ symbol when choosing where to eat.
For more information about the scheme, please go to www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk/eat-out-eat-well