Maggie Beer put Catholic Healthcare on the menu treating residents at Gertrude Abbott in Surry Hills to one of her signature meals full of flavour and homemade delight on Harmony Day, 21 March.
The special lunch was part of the Maggie Beer Foundation’s Trainer Mentor Program to support kitchen teams in aged care.
‘The Foundation is all about getting back to basics, and flavour. So, homemade gravy, homemade soups…that's where the flavour is,’ said the Foundation’s project lead, Jemma Gonzalez.
The Maggie Beer Foundation will work with Gertrude Abbott’s Chef Manager, Claudine Boydell, and her team over the next twelve months as part of the training program, designed to enhance the dining experience for aged care residents.
‘There is no specialised training for aged care, and it's a complex arena, particularly with texture-modified foods. So, I could see the gaps. I got to hear all the brick walls. And I also understood the only real way is to be hands-on,’ said Maggie Beer.
Gertrude Abbott was chosen as one of the first homes to pilot the program as part of a rollout to 120 aged care homes across Australia.
‘What I'd like to see is best practice developed here at Gertrude Abbott and The Haven in Wagga, and then for us to be able to share this expertise [mentor tools, techniques and recipes] to that wider reach, to our chef managers,’ said Catholic Healthcare’s Senior Manager, Hospitality and Housekeeping Services, Catherine McGoldrick.
Putting her words into practice, Maggie Beer and her team rolled up their sleeves with the kitchen team to produce Greek-inspired fare, featuring tzatziki, chicken, and slow-cooked lamb, accompanied by a salad and flatbread made by the residents.
‘The week's been amazing. The Foundation worked closely with the kitchen team here. And through cooking lunch, we've made some adaptations to the recipes so that we could boost flavour…and the chef trainers worked with each team member to finesse their cooking techniques,’ said Ms Gonzalez.
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