Improving food and nutrition in aged care: Charles Chambers Court – Mission Australia

What does good food mean to me?

It means a great time.

The plate is empty, and then the smile from our resident, and then I can go home happy.

As part of the new Aged Care Act and the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards, the Australian Government has partnered with the Maggie Beer Foundation to deliver free training programs for chefs and cooks working in aged care settings to improve food, nutrition and the dining experience for residents.

What motivated us to take part in the Maggie Beer training is to make the food experience a pleasurable experience, something that people look forward to, something they enjoy, and something that's special as part of their day.

The Maggie Beer Foundation program starts with a chef residency. One of the Maggie Beer chefs comes on site.

The staff were really on board with that.

My team, they've been working here for a long time.

We haven't had something like this.

Something from outside, some new ideas, so their enthusiasm is very high and they're happy to do it.

The foundation offers various resources, including Online Learning Modules, virtual and hybrid short courses, a Trainer Mentor Program, and Professional Community, networking opportunities.

The training for the staff, the review of the menu, working with nutritionists and dietitians, looking at the prep, the work plan, what the residents like to eat.

So it really is taking the skills of our staff to the next level.

It’s given them something else to think about that's actually exciting and different and new.

We always ask for the feedback. I bring up to the resident meeting, ‘So, this is the menu

that we want to plan. So what do you think?’ And then any feedback.

So we have kind of discussion and then, yeah, we bring all the different varieties from different cultures.

One of the lovely things about the program for me has been Cook Fresh.

For supplements we've really seen a drop.

The meals they have have enough nutrition for them.

So it's things like that Maggie Beer offers, it’s really had a positive impact.

The other thing that I think has been really nice is just having special occasions, like theme days.

We've done a lot recently around celebrating Chinese New Year. We've had a French festival, we're planning an Indian one a bit later on, lots of high teas.

These occasions, when we do something special, the residents know that we're really caring and making the extra effort for them.

Now we have every month something special. The residents, they're just like us; when they have a choice, they're happy. They used to go out before, you know, So when they come here, they're expecting, you know, the varieties.

Residents eat here three times a day. The dining experience, food and nutrition, it's the care that we provide to them. You know, it's the love that we show them. It's the respect that we have for them. It's the dignity of their lives that we're trying to honour.

Simple things, but they can make a huge difference.

By investing time in training for chefs and cooks, aged care providers can make a meaningful difference to residents and staff.

Find out more about food and nutrition in aged care.