Grossman menu too rich for some

A West Yorkshire hospital has decided not to extend the new Loyd Grossman-designed menu because it is too expensive to implement.

Bob Allen, chief executive of Airedale NHS Trust, which runs the Airedale General Hospital in Keighley, said it had not ditched the menu but had decided not to expand it "for financial reasons".

He denied newspaper reports that the hospital was to reject the modern menu because patients did not like the new dishes.

Allen said developing the menu would cost more money as the ingredients were more expensive. He denied that patients disliked the meals, and said the trust had received good comments about them.

One out of the three meal choices served each day would still be a recipe from the Grossman menu, said Allen, adding that no decision had yet been made to phase out the menu.

The new dishes were introduced last May as part of the Government's £40m Better Hospital Food programme. They were designed by TV presenter Grossman and a team of celebrity chefs. Since its conception, the programme has come under regular fire because of its costliness.