Meals

At Queen Victoria Care, residents co-design every part of their lives, and food is no different. 

We take great pride in our meals and have come a long way in improving quality, variety, and presentation. While we are always striving for continuous improvement, we are fortunate to have a passionate Catering team who care deeply about creating enjoyable dining experiences every day.

As part of our dining experience, some enhanced meal offerings are provided through our Higher Everyday Living Fee (HELF) services. These include:

• Daily hot cooked breakfast options
• Two choices of hot cooked lunch meals
• Dessert served with lunch

These offerings support greater choice, flexibility, and enjoyment at mealtimes.

Texture-Modified Meals

A key focus for us in recent years has been improving our texture-modified meals. Queen Victoria Care fully adopted the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) framework several years ago to ensure meals are prepared safely, with the correct texture and strong nutritional value.

Our current focus is on presentation and enjoyment, because we understand that people eat with their eyes first.

Many residents in our care have been assessed as experiencing swallowing or dexterity difficulties. Our role is to ensure meals are prepared safely and appropriately, whether that is:

• Level 6 Soft & Bite-Sized
• Level 5 Minced & Moist
• Level 4 Puree
• or other IDDSI levels as required.

In the past, families have sometimes asked questions such as:
“Why do Mum’s meals look like that?” or
“Why can’t Dad have what everyone else is eating?”

Our goal is to ensure residents can enjoy the same meals as others, just prepared in a way that is safe for them, while still looking appealing and recognisable.

Our Head Chef works closely with the Catering team to expand our repertoire of visually appealing texture-modified meals. When meals look appetising, residents are more likely to enjoy eating, supporting nutrition, wellbeing, and quality of life.