A recipe for success in aged care

14 October 2022

14 Oct 2022

Passionate and talented chefs are thinking outside the box to elevate the dining experience of aged care residents.

Thursday October 20 is International Chefs Day, celebrating the profession and creating awareness about the importance of healthy eating.

Sanath Wanniarachchi is a former high-flying executive chef using his extensive food experience to help enrich the lives of aged care residents at for-purpose organisation VMCH.

He joined VMCH in 2015, following a career in coveted positions in some of the world’s most luxurious hotels and casinos, including the 7-star Burj-Al-Arab Hotel in Dubai.

Now, in his new role as Head Chef, Residential Aged Care, Sanath oversees menus across all 13 VMCH residences. He’s passionate about inspiring chef managers to concentrate on presentation, along with nutrition, to maximise residents’ dining experience.

It is a very rewarding job,” Sanath says. “Food is such an important part of aged care and residents should have access to the best quality food available. Along with a focus on meeting their dietary requirements, I’ve also worked on improving the texture, flavour and appearance of the meals to appeal to their appetites and make it more interesting.

New seasonal, dietitian-approved menus, including various cuisines and traditional cooking techniques have been well received, with spring chef’s specials including poached salmon with artichoke confit and strawberry-basil shortcakes. Attractive menu books with images are also popular, giving residents a visual representation of what to expect of their meal. Alternative menus ensure residents have more choice and options.

Aged care residents enjoy their lunch prepared by Head Chef, Sanath.

VMCH CEO Sonya Smart says employing experienced chefs like Sanath is just one part of the puzzle to ensure an outstanding dining experience for residents.

We have a huge focus on providing the best meals for residents and investing in our staff. Our chefs recently enjoyed online training through Altura Learning and the Maggie Beer Foundation, learning about maximising flavours and ‘feeding the eyes’ through food presentation. Training like this helps fuel their passion and get their creative juices flowing,” Sonya says.

“We recognise mealtimes are something residents in aged care look forward to, and that many of our residents have spent their lifetimes cooking and have a keen interest in food, so we want to make the experience as exciting and diverse as possible. Obviously, there are some limitations with health needs, but there is no reason why we can’t give residents good, wholesome food with variety that encompasses cultural diversity and beliefs.”

VMCH aged care resident Barbara Stanton says she’s enjoying the “new exciting menus” created by Sanath.

“He has done a good job! Most people enjoy his food and if they prefer something else, they can have an alternative. We also like the menu books.”

Sonya says moving forward, VMCH hopes to not only maximise residents’ dining experience in-house but advocate for change across the industry.

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Acknowledgement of Country

We here at VMCH respectfully acknowledge the traditional owners of the lands on which we gather, and we would like to take a moment to honour the fact that we live on the lands of the oldest civilisation in the world. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and wisdom of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging.