Photo: Dragan
Australian chef Maggie Beer is upskilling cooks in aged-care homes around the country via a new government-funded training programme.
After spending five weeks in the kitchen of a West Australian aged-care home for the video series Maggie Beer's Big Mission, Australian chef Maggie Beer learnt all about the complex challenges of serving three meals per day plus snacks to a large group with different dietary requirements.
But while commercial cooking is a tougher gig than cooking in a restaurant, the 79-year-old says, the principles of flavouring food and creating a smooth workflow in the kitchen still apply.
Thanks to funding from the Australian Federal Government, Beer's team of chef trainers is now mentoring kitchen staff at 120 Australian aged-care homes on how to plan, create and deliver hot, nutritious and delicious meals en masse.
Watch every episode of the ABC iView series Maggie Beer's Big Mission for free on YouTube
The participating aged-care chefs not only get ideas, skills and online resources from the programme, Beer says, they also get the sense of being part of a professional cheffing community.
But overhauling the time-honoured methods of an institution can of course be a tricky process.
Staff at the Western Australia home where Maggie Beer's Big Mission was filmed at first felt "confronted" by Beer's team, she says.
"Until they became comfortable and realised we were there to help and encourage and find solutions with them, not to put on any sort of blame.
"In the end, they could really see the worth of having that spotlight, learning how to do better and be celebrated for being brave enough to do this."
Maggie Beer shares a laugh with an aged care chef in the ABC series Maggie Beer's Big Mission. Photo: ABC
Beer is excited to see staff working in aged-care kitchens receive kudos and gain more work satisfaction as they get skilled up by her trainers.
"We really do see results... there is an energy that comes from everyone to continue the path. Our work is really just beginning."
When it comes to serving the many aged-care residents who require easy-to-swallow meals, many chefs take the easy road of just pureeing everything, Beer says.
While people with eating restrictions deserve "as beautiful a meal as everyone else has" most people need a lot of training in both preparation and planning to pull this off, Beer says.
Delivering hot meals to residents' rooms is another logistical challenge, she says, but it matters because tepid food - having lost all freshness and fragrance - is much less appetising.
"That smell, that aroma of beautiful food, is something we need to tempt the residents."
At the aged-care home where Maggie Beer's Big Mission was filmed, residents were in "three camps" when it came to no longer cooking for themselves, Beer says.
There were people who were very happy to be catered for, people who were "just accepting" of it and then a group who really missed cooking and baking.
Beer is excited about helping to give these residents opportunities to cook with care staff in dining rooms which often have a servery and space to install a small household oven.
"There's always someone on the team of an aged care home who organises things to do that are exciting for the residents, so you get that communication happening and then you start making scones.
"Then the scones come out, and that wafting aroma is right in front of everyone. It brings everyone together."
Australian chef Maggie Beer bakes scones with an aged care resident in her ABC series Maggie Beer's Big Mission. Photo: ABC
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