Food at Wadhurst Manor Care Home
Meet our Head Chef, Jo Mallion
With my team I aim to deliver first rate dining every day of the week. All our food is cooked from fresh produce and is of high nutritional value . I love meeting regularly with our residents to ask them about their likes and dislikes and ask them what they would like to see on the menu.
There's something special about being Chef at Wadhurst Manor. It's like cooking for one big happy family!
Food and Nutrition at Wadhurst Manor
Our catering team work very closely with the care staff to support our residents who need specialist diets. They also enjoy displaying their expertise by providing beautiful home-made cakes and biscuits on a daily basis not just for special occasions such as birthdays and celebratory days such as Christmas, Halloween and Easter. Our team visit the residents and join in with the residents meetings to have the opportunity to listen to our residents opinions and ideas. As we are a 24 hour care setting there is always an opportunity to have a snack at whatever time of day. To get an idea of the range of choice we offer please see the examples below.
Dietary requirements
For residents that have difficulties in swallowing we modify the menu of the day so that is it a soft, palatable dish. To support our chefs in producing these dishes, our hospitality and Chef Academy organises theory and practical workshops. Working in partnership with Nutricia, our practical workshops involve all chefs and deputy managers learning about dysphagia and producing these modified menus. The chefs work with the chef trainer to prepare fork mashable and thick puree meals to the correct consistency, taste and presentation. The deputy managers can then ensure all modified menus served are presented correctly for our residents.
Attracting top chefs
Our chefs are recruited on the basis of an interview with the regional hospitality support team and the manager for the home. Selection also involves a practical element where potential cooks are asked to cook for and meet a panel of people living in the home. Chefs take their job extremely seriously and our annual 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'.
