Award-winning St Albans chef Phil Thompson is so impressed by meals on wheels food that he has agreed to become the first patron of the local service.

As the recent guest of the Hertfordshire Independent Living Service (HILS) at the Jubilee Centre in Catherine Street, Phil, owner of Thompson St Albans, Hatfield Road, sampled dishes that are served to customers in their own homes.

He told HILS chief executive Sarah Wren: “I have known restaurants working with far bigger budgets who can’t consistently deliver food as good as this. It is warm, tasty comfort food, the sort my Mum used to cook.

“You need and deserve the full support of the community, and I am so impressed with the passion you show for what you do. I wish some of my chefs had half your passion and commitment. You are doing an amazing job.”

Phil learned about the logistical considerations HILS have to take into account, making sure meals arrive piping hot and catering for a wide range of nutritional needs.

HILS delivers half a million meals each year across the county, mainly to residents who are elderly and frail. It has become one of the largest meals on wheels providers in the country, growing rapidly since its launch in 2007.

With the restaurateur on board, HILS hope to develop its social business and dispel any misconceptions about the quality of meals on wheels food.