Food at The Fernes Care Home
When a new resident moves into The Fernes, the Head Chef will meet with them within the first couple of days and discover their likes and dislikes, and find out what their all-time favourite dish is and ensure that it is featured on our monthly menu. The catering team host resident meetings and ask for feedback on previous menus in order to tailor the menus to residents favourite foods.
The catering team and care team ensure that each of our residents are within a healthy BMI range and can quickly adapt menu's to suit the individual. They make sure that each resident celebrating their birthday will have a beautiful birthday cake and the option to celebrate with family and friends over a meal. To get a taste of our daily menus, please see below.
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'.
