Food at Woodhorn Park Care Home
Woodhorn park have a carefully balanced choice of menu, tailored after discussion between our chefs, residents, their families and the responsible key worker further supports our residents well-being. We allow residents to eat in a relaxed dining environment with adapted crockery and tableware, and we offer plate presentation to allow a visible choice of meals. For residents who have difficulties in eating and swallowing we modify the menu of the day so that it meets there dietary needs. We have developed our chefs through the Barchester chef academy, which offers on-going training and development to our chefs and kitchen staff which trains them specifically to enhance the clients meal time experience. For a taste of what we can offer, see the example menus 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'.
