Care home team has recipe for catering award success
The kitchen team at Avery Lodge Care Home in Grantham have shown they have the recipe for success by cooking themselves to the title of “Catering Team of the Year” in the National Association of Care Catering awards.
The award has created quite a stir in the home with residents and colleagues looking forward to a celebratory meal prepared by Head Chef Lyndsey Grant and the catering team of six.
According to the judges the award winning ingredients are: dedication and commitment to customers that is founded on understanding of care needs; offering choice and supporting wellbeing by serving creative, appetising and nutritional meals.
The residents of Avery Lodge are offered a choice of freshly-prepared restaurant-style meals each day, with an emphasis on locally sourced ingredients. There is also a range snacks and drinks available throughout the day. Residents are consulted about menu planning, so that the kitchen team understand their likes and dislikes as well as any special dietary or health requirements.
Chef Lyndsey Grantsaid: “It’s wonderful to have won a national catering award and it’s a credit to the great team that we have in the kitchens at Avery Lodge. Most of us have been here since the home opened nine years ago so we work well together.
Lyndsey Grant explained how cooking for older people differs from preparing restaurant menus: “We all want food to look appetising and to taste good, but catering for people in care homes has additional challenges, because as we age our nutritional needs can change and it becomes important for older people to have a high quality nutrient rich diet to ensure they are eating a good balance of calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate and fibre, as well as vitamin and minerals.”
