Getting ready to cook up a storm

“It was an opportunity to see if we could get some resources down here in Mount Gambier to look at how we could improve the aged care situation down here in terms of the food.”

That is, in a nutshell, why Boandik head chef Peter Coleman applied to be part of the Maggie Beer Foundation Trainer Mentor Program.

“I am the one who put the application in – it was prior to the TV series (that showcased Maggie’s work in aged care),” Peter said.

That saw Boandik selected as one of 120 aged care facilities nationwide to be part of the program and the facility’s initial five day intensive introduction to what the next 12 months will look like was held last week.

Peter is only eight months into his role at Boandik but that was preceded by five years in the aged care sector and two decades as a catering manager in hospitals so his experience combined with the Maggie Beer Foundation support, he is confident the next 12 months will see real change.

“You can’t get too much help or assistance with this,” he said. “The Maggie Beer Foundation and the process that it uses is great. The true gift that this program will give us is the ongoing maintenance.”

And Peter is hopefully Boandik will not be the only facility to benefit from this 12 months of mentoring and training.

“If we’ve done something particularly well and exciting we can pass that on,” he said. “We would like to branch out and assist nearby aged care places. We can transfer some of the ideas and concepts from Maggie Beer Foundation into the entire South East.”

Even just in the five days the Maggie Beer team were in house providing the initial training and information gathering, Peter could already see the difference in dishes with the kitchen team heading out to the Boandik herb garden and adding fresh herbs to dishes.

And he knows it’s only the tip of the iceberg in terms of change over the next 12 months.

“Aged care has its own unique difficulties for want of a better word. It is a developing and evolving situation,” Peter said. “There are new aged care standards coming in and we want to not only meet them but exceed them. “

Maggie Beer Foundation senior trainer Michael Nam was the man in charge of both working with the kitchen team, selling the concept to management and talking with residents to see what they would like and given his experience in other settings – this is the ninth aged care facility with which he has teamed up.

“I started off by training the kitchen team creating meals that are tasty and homestyle using fresh ingredients,” Michael said. “We’ve had some incredible results in some of the homes I’ve worked in. Some of the most dissatisfied are now thrilled and enjoy the meals.”

Then it was the turn of the residents to have their say at the food forum, where staff and management were also on hand so all the feedback from the dishes put up for tasting and just what residents would love to see on the menu in a perfect world could be collated.

Michael said initially it was all about getting the answers to some fundamental questions – what do you like, what don’t you like and what do you miss from home?

“We ask residents rather than thinking we know what’s best for them,” he said.

And it’s from there that the menu will now start to evolve.

The food forums are then held every month, to stay in touch with the residents about how things are progressing.

Aside from the enjoyment of the meals, serving meals that are high protein and that residents actually want to eat proves a huge boost for health and wellbeing as well.

“People at most risk of malnutrition now have stable weight or have gained weight through this program,” Michael said. “That’s the benefit of a food first approach ad sometimes the flow on effects are not seen until months down the track.

“The happiness of the care staff and the kitchen staff improves – it restores pride and interest.”

Basically after the 12 month program, after which ongoing support is provided, the aim is that everything that happens in the food space just becomes normal.

“Variety is the key to the success of most thing,” Michael said, seeing this food revolution as no different.

The often popular Friday fish and chips night in aged care facilities is the perfect example of how the Maggie Beer Foundation changes things.

“Most residents like battered fish and that’s great but some residents like a grilled or crumbed fish so we do it four different ways and residents can choose,” Michael said. “These are the little things that will make a difference and have made a difference across the board. It’s about a resident being able to make their own choice.

“Flexibility is challenging but things are changing and with 10 trainers across Australia there’s always someone that has a solution for some of the challenges. Sometimes it’s new equipment, sometimes it’s a new shift that needs to be allocated.”

Needless to say, buy in from management is key but Michael’s focus is very much on his role as chef trainer.

“Mentoring is pivotal,” he said. “Boandik is definitely well placed to take full advantage of this program. I really hope it will be fantastic for Mount Gambier and it will be the first spark to progress aged care in Mount Gambier.”

The program is free for participating facilities with funding currently in place until March 2026.