There's not many people who don't find comfort and nourishment in a favourite meal. It's a source of enjoyment that's shared by our residents in Carinity's aged care communities.
For the chefs and kitchen teams in each home, the act of caring through food brings its own reward. We spoke with Nicolas Harth, Chef at Carinity Brownesholme, whose career has taken him around the world and has now brought him back home to the familiar hills of Toowoomba's Highfields.
As a Jandowae born-and-bred local, Nick started his career as an apprentice chef in kitchens across Toowoomba. Hailing from a family of chefs, donning the apron to follow his mother and older brother seemed like the natural choice.
After finishing his four-year apprenticeship, Nick headed overseas where he gained the bulk of his experience. "I worked in three-rosette restaurants - which are the equivalent of a Michelin star - with a brigade of chefs, before moving across to hotels, including boutique hotels in the beautiful Cotwolds in England.
When he returned home to Australia with his young family in tow, Nick found himself looking for a different kind of challenge. "Mum worked as a chef in aged care for a long time," he said.
"I often used to help her out in the kitchen when I was an apprentice, so I had a good understanding of the differences in serving older diners."
Nick's experience alongside his mum meant he knew that food in aged care could still provide a great dining experience.
"Mum used to always make things from scratch, so that was one of my prerequisites of coming to work at Brownesholme, that there would be no packet foods - not even soups."
Hearing Carinity's commitment to freshly prepared and cooked meals sealed the deal.
Getting to know the residents and their preferences appealed to Nick. Adapting to the dietary requirements of 96 individual residents gave him the opportunity to put his creative mind to work. A varied, flexible menu and responsive team plays a big role in this.
In all Carinity homes, every afternoon residents are invited to choose what they'd like to eat tomorrow. Of course, just like at home, sometimes when the day arrives they feel like something else instead. That's why there's always the choice of an alternative meal, salad or sandwich, to make sure no-one goes hungry.
For those occasions where nothing sounds quite right, Nick and his team make sure to have other options available, which also helps to minimise food waste.
"I cryovac extras from our regular roasts, so it's never a problem to whip up a meat and three vege if I need to," he said. "We're not a restaurant, but we try to have as many options as we can, so residents can usually find something they enjoy."
With many residents experiencing new dietary requirements, Nick always has a solution.
"A resident might need to change to a soft diet and be struggling with some of the limitations, like missing fresh beans or lettuce. We'll try and personalise it as much as possible - I'll always make the time to sit with them and understand what they need, to make sure they're happy," he said.
This personal approach of getting to know each resident is something that Nick really enjoys about his role.
"It's on us to maintain residents' nutrition, so we've got to make it interesting, with good flavours and textures and all those elements that we take for granted. Making it as exciting as possible is really important."
As the saying goes, we 'eat with our eyes', and it's no different as we get older. It's especially important for residents on a texture-modified or soft diet. For Nick's team at Brownesholme, making soft food look as good as it tastes is something of an artform. From food moulds to creative experiments, the team are always seeking out new ways to offer variety and interest.
Recently, Nick and his team have set themselves a challenge to create corn and beetroot - typically tricky to serve in a safe way as a soft food.
"I want to make sure that all the residents are enjoying the same food. This is just a different shape - the flavours should be there, everything should be there, just slightly modified."
After nearly four years serving residents, there's still more that Nick wants to do.
"Introducing a seasonal menu, increasing how much food we're sourcing locally and staying focused on giving residents the best possible dining experience keeps me motivated."
The happy chatter of residents as they share their meal together is also a great reward.
