Cath speaks to Stir It Up!

Last week, Lakeside Care Home's Head Chef, Cath Clark, spoke to Stir It Up magazine; a UK-based publication tailored for independent caterers operating within the education, health and hospitality sectors. 

How do you ensure that meals enrich the health of residents?

Ultimately our residents have choices on what they eat at Lakeside Care Home, but we do have a duty to make sure what they eat is good for them!

That means we focus on seasonal products to create our menus; we focus on homegrown and source locally to make sure their getting variation and quality.

90% of our meals are homecooked which always makes a difference – we know exactly what residents are eating.

How do you balance nutritional needs with personal preferences and cultural considerations?

Our residents like traditional British food, so we have to think about the way we make plates – can we add more vegetables or use alternative ingredients that are better for them?

Everyone is different but we work hard to find that balance!

Do you work with dieticians or nutritionists to design meal plans and how does this work?

Not currently, but a Nutritionist is coming on board for the Group in the coming months. We’re excited to see what she will bring as we aim to do even more for those at Lakeside.

Are meals tailored to individual health goals or medical needs?

Absolutely. We wouldn’t be doing our job right if not! Whether a resident has dietary requirements – gluten-free, vegetarian or those who follow religious diets.

Or they need support for health reasons we can fortify foods, provide high protein diets or advise what will work best for their goals – but, it’s up to them if they want to partake.

How do you encourage residents to keep hydrated?

We want to step away from just offering residents tea and squash! You have to think outside of the box.

We’ve got an in-house bistro where residents can socialise with friends and family with drinks on tap! Residents also have kitchenettes, which if able, they can use whenever.

Going further though, we try and keep things fun – ice cream, custard, smoothies and ice lollies all help with hydration throughout the day!

How do kitchen and care staff collaborate to ensure residents’ nutritional needs are met?

The cross-team communication at Lakeside is great, Carers monitored residents brilliantly and any information with regards to food and drink is passed onto the Nurses who then keep us well informed.

This information is then used to make changes to keep residents healthy and happy!

How do you assess the effectiveness of nutrition on residents’ health and well-being?

It’s all dependent on the resident’s needs, we can look at their weight, levels of energy or their vitals. But the staff team will chat with them, see how they’re feeling and observe how they’re engaging with the home’s activity schedule.

To learn more about Lakeside, please click here.