Menu Planning a Recipe for Success at Mercy Place Mont Clare

There were some culinary creations as well as food for thought this week when seniors at a not-for-profit residential home in Claremont spilt the beans and gave their resident chefs some constructive critiquing.

That’s because the seniors at Mercy Place Mont Clare were immersed in a training program alongside a dozen of Mercy Health’s chefs, with the intention of improving the nutritional value and presentation of their daily meals.

The chef-training session provided tips and tasty tricks for the cooks and hospitality staff to provide all residents, particularly those with swallowing difficulties, a tastier and engaging dining experience, in addition to how table presentation can positively influence the dining experience.

Mercy Place Mont Clare Service Manager, Joan Lowney, says Mercy Health believes delicious fresh food that is also visually appealing is critical for the health and well-being of residents, in addition to meal times being an important time for seniors to socialise.

“This training for our key hospitality staff, in conjunction with residents, is focused not only on good nutrition, but also reinforcing the message that mealtimes are where relationships are forged, and the way in which food is presented is paramount to creating joy in our residents’ day,” she says.

“For Mercy Health, this is why we always ensure our residents have an opportunity to participate in the design of our menus; we want to ensure that our food smells and tastes wonderful, and also that it is presented beautifully and exceeds their expectations.

“Our residents were very much involved in this session, and gave great feedback to our chefs on various dishes - after all the proof is pretty much always in the pudding.”

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