Meals

At QVCare, residents co-design every part of their lives – and food is no different. This year, residents have been working with the Catering team to revise menus and collaborate on a Resident Meal Experience Project to ensure we are meeting the brief.

Here at Queen Victoria Care we take pride in our meals and have come a long way in terms of quality, variety, and presentation. There will always be continuous improvement on our behalf to achieve that, but we have a passionate team that we feel can achieve anything.

One of our focus’s of late has been our texture modified meals. We fully adopted the IDDSI standards a few years ago (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative) and went about ensuring the meals were of the correct texture and of high nutritional value. What we are now focusing on is the presentation.

Many of the individuals in our care have been assessed as having difficulties with their swallowing and/or dexterity. While there are many reasons for this, our job is to ensure the meal is prepared correctly. Whether it is a Level 6 “Soft & Bite Sized” meal, a Level 5 “Minced & Moist” meal, or a Level 4 “Puree” meal etc.

Quite often in the past we would receive feedback from a family member asking “why do Mum’s meals look like that”? Or “Why can’t Dad have what his friends are eating”?

Here at QVCare we need to boost the understanding to all the Residents in our care and their loved ones. We are also aiming for your loved ones to have exactly what everyone else is eating, just prepared differently.

Below are examples of this. Our Head Chef Kelly Hoad is working closely with all our team to build on our repertoire. Here at QVCare we fully understand that you “eat with your eyes first” and the meals need to look appealing, not just taste good. Quite often unappealing meals can lead to a lack of desire to eat, which can lead to weight loss.

This is where the Catering department really come to the forefront and can do so much to build your loved ones up.

Our resident families are always welcome to have a meal or a coffee in our beautiful space with stunning views, to ensure this is a home residents can share with their loved ones.