Food at Silverbirch House Care Home
Our menus are composed of only the best fresh produce and cooked to the highest quality, with aims for the natural aroma and taste to be retained as best as possible. A great deal of care is taken to accommodate all dietary requirements, and our meals are always prepared with the likes and dislikes of residents taken into consideration. We can guarantee that there is something for everyone on our menu, which you can view below:
Samuel Lilywhite-Smith
Hello, my name is Samuel. I have been a chef for 14 years and bring to the team a wealth of experience. I want to challenge the stigma around chefs working in care homes. The food I provide here is restaurant quality and in a different league to others. Care has always been a big part of my life as my mother used to manage a care home. I am a keen fisherman and I love music. I am particularly passionate about growing vegetables in my allotment. I’ve had great success with Asian veggies, but struggle with parsnips. Who would have thought that?
Dietary requirements
For residents who have difficulties swallowing, we modify the menu of the day so that the dishes are more palatable for them. To support our chefs in producing these dishes, our hospitality team and our Chef Academy organise theory and practical workshops. The chefs work with the chef trainer to prepare tasty, modified meals safely and according to IDDSI frame work. This encourages residents to eat and enjoy their food. All our chefs have been trained in IDDSI food descriptors.
Attracting top chefs
Our chefs are recruited on the basis of an interview with the regional hospitality support team and the manager of the home. Selection also involves a practical element, where potential chefs are asked to cook for and meet a panel of people living in the home. Chefs take their job extremely seriously and the annual Barchester Chef Competition sees our chefs battle it out in regional heats and then at a national final for the accolade of 'Barchester's Chef of the Year'.
