RCH Care Home Executive Chef Oliver Clothier and Chefs from across the group spent the day at Brakes Innovation Centre in Reading working with their Danny Silcock, Brakes Development Chef.
An educational day for all who attended the Chefs from our nursing, dementia and residential homes undertook a series of educational and practical learning sessions around texture modified diets and the how to present them.
Danny started the day with a visual demonstration of texture modified diets and what food is suitable for those who require it and the importance of ensuring the food is appealing. Throughout the day those who attended were shown and then practised producing snacks and desserts along with main meals to enhance the offering for residents. They then moved onto making desserts and how to create these in a productive way whilst looking attractive and inviting.
The team have discussed the challenges around producing the volumes but were engaged with ideas of how to counter this.
Oliver our Executive Chef was pleased with how the development day had gone, ‘the day has been a great success throughout the team and are excited to have more days like this to discuss other ways of supporting residents in a variety of ways. Danny Silcock, Andrew Joyce, and Cathy Amos were fantastic on the day in working closely with the team providing some real insights into the opportunities offered by Brakes which had everyone leaving with a real sense of excitement for the future.’
To create the RCH Dining Experience, the Catering Team consists of a Chef and Kitchen Team. The Catering Team are committed to promoting each resident’s health and wellbeing with wholesome and nutritional seasonal menus which are freshly prepared in our homes every day. The Chefs works alongside the whole care team to understand each individual resident’s preferences and special dietary needs. Our dining rooms are informal, relaxed, welcoming spaces, but just as in your own home, any space may lend itself to eating and drinking. We support residents to enjoy meals wherever they feel most comfortable; breakfast in bed is a favourite with afternoon tea in the garden a close second.
‘Great food speaks volumes about how we care and, for us, food is at the heart of the home. Our qualified cooks work hard to ensure our menus are seasonal and tasty, regularly consulting with the residents to discover what type of foods they ’d like to see on the menu. Personal choice and preference are important, so with 2-3daily main meal and supper options to choose from our menus have just that! And if nothing takes your fancy then a special order can be placed. All of our meals are freshly prepared and cooked in our professional kitchens using fresh vegetables, meats and fish where possible and at all times maintaining a high standard of quality.’
