Residents’ food preferences and nutritional needs are front of mind following the Maggie Beer training
Nikesh Poudel is a chef at Resthaven Marion, a 159-bed aged care home in Adelaide.
‘I love working with the older people and cooking for them. I like to put a smile on their face,’ Nikesh says.
The Department of Health and Aged Care has partnered with the Maggie Beer Foundation to deliver free training to the aged care sector. Resthaven Marion is more than halfway through the foundation’s Trainer Mentor Program.
The program includes a menu appraisal and tailored advice from a qualified chef trainer on how to make changes at their service. Staff can access online learning modules to help them understand best practice for food, nutrition and dining in aged care.
‘The food here was already pretty good. We always use fresh ingredients. I eat the food too. If I wouldn’t eat it, I wouldn’t serve it,’ Nikesh says.
Nonetheless, Nikesh and the rest of the kitchen team learned a lot from the training. Older people need higher levels of some critical nutrients, like protein and calcium.
Focusing on residents’ nutritional requirements will help Resthaven Marion meet the new food and nutrition Quality Standard from 1 July 2025 under the new Aged Care Act.
For Nikesh, protein fortification was a key takeaway of the training. This involves increasing the amount of protein in a recipe without changing how the dish tastes.
‘The training has helped us with natural protein fortification, so we can move away from using pre-made mixes. Instead, for example, we add skim milk powder to naturally fortify when we bake cakes,’ Nikesh says.
‘Other main course recipes might be lacking in protein, so we’ll add in some meat. We’ll do whatever we can to increase protein and use natural ingredients.’
The training has helped Nikesh more accurately calculate the nutrition in meals.
‘The training taught us how to use a nutrition calculator. So when we’re designing menus, we know how much protein is in a cup of soup or any other dishes,’ Nikesh says.
Resthaven Marion is also using some of the recipes, which have been popular with residents.
‘We have definitely used some of the Maggie Beer ideas and recipes in our seasonal menus, like the morning and afternoon tea lemon, blueberry and yoghurt loaf. And also meatballs in Italian sauce, and the roast beef,’ Nikesh says.
Some older people have difficulty swallowing or chewing certain foods. The training has helped Nikesh improve texture modified foods.
‘We try to use the same meals from the menu as the base. So, if curry is on the menu, we’ll use the same meat to create texture modified meals. We also separate out the greens from the orange colours. We separate out the meat as well so people can see what they’re eating,’ Nikesh says.
The new food and nutrition Quality Standard also requires providers to work with residents to understand their preferences.
‘We ask residents to fill out feedback forms. I’ll go to the dining room and talk to the residents. If someone is not happy, I’ll talk to them about their likes and dislikes, and design a separate menu for them if they want,’ Nikesh says.
Nikesh is proud of his work and of the food they serve, but he knows there is always more to learn.
‘I’ve been cooking a long time, but I got some good ideas from the training. You can always get better,’ Nikesh says.
‘It has especially made me think about getting more protein into the food, with good flavours and cooked to the residents’ preferences.’
‘I’d recommend the Maggie Beer training to other aged care cooks. It doesn’t matter how good you are at your job – there are always ideas from the training that you can implement.’
Nikesh (left) and chef trainer Ben Lewis (right).
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