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Masterclass Champion – Bryan Martin, Sodexho and Uniting

30 June, 2020

Sodexo Head Chef, Bryan Martin, took part in the Maggie Beer Foundation’s ‘Creating an Appetite for Life’ program December last year in Adelaide. As a Maggie Beer Foundation accredited chef, Bryan has had the opportunity to share his learnings and methodology with other Sodexo Aged Care cooks and chefs.  In line with the Maggie Beef Foundation’s mission, Sodexo chefs are committed to improving the quality of life for residents by providing appetising and nutritious food, specific to dietary needs.

Uniting also believes that good nutrition leads to better health outcomes for residents. For this reason, Uniting invests a lot of effort in maintaining a good standard in food preparation and consumption across all their aged care services to ensure residents receive adequate nutrition and hydration.

In partnership with Uniting, Sodexo Aged Care chefs recently held an engaging cooking demonstration at Uniting Hawkesbury Village, inspired by Maggie Beer recipes. Sodexo chefs Lindsey O’Grady – Chef Manager of Uniting Hawkesbury Village, Bryan Martin – Chef Manager of Uniting Kamilaroi and Nick Hurst – Chef Manager and Operational Support Manager for Sodexo Seniors, started off sharing a bit about their personal and professional background and passion for food.

The cooking demonstration was an opportunity to bring the overall dining experience to life for all the Uniting residents who attended the “Ready, Steady, Cook” themed presentation.

The residents enjoyed taking part in an interactive quiz to identify different herbs and reminisced about their favourite dishes from childhood. The Uniting Hawkesbury staff members also joined in, trying their skills at making fish cakes. The event was a great success which resulted in everyone enjoying the creation of tasty and beautifully presented dishes that adhere to the aged care dietary guidelines. The three-course menu was adapted from Maggie Beer’s Recipes for Life. Uniting Hawkesbury is planning more events featuring food preparation and cooking in the future.

“At Uniting, we want people to eat well to stay healthy and we know that people get a lot of enjoyment from good food. Food is so important to everyone. Taste and smell can evoke memories, stimulate happiness and provide comfort and this initiative was a great way for the residents to enjoy the benefits of what the chefs had learnt in the kitchen.” Uniting Hawkesbury Service Manager, Jenny Yates

The chefs were really entertaining and kept us all engaged the whole time. We were especially impressed with Chef Lindsey working his blow torch magic on the meringue dessert. We are all still talking about it, we enjoyed it so much.” – Uniting Hawkesbury resident, Julia Kett

“Working in collaboration with our clients, we embrace the ethos of the Maggie Beer Foundation and are committed to creating an industry leading dining experience, improving the health, happiness and quality of life of older Australians.” Bryan Martin, Sodexo Chef Manager, Uniting Kamilaroi Village

“I am blessed to be able to share in my passion for food.  I think that as a chef, you never stop learning and improving in what we do. I’m grateful for the efforts, time, shared knowledge and opportunity to work alongside Chef’s Nick and Bryan.”Lindsey O’Grady, Sodexo Chef Manager, Uniting Hawkesbury Village

“More than just the enjoyment of the food that was served, the social interaction between residents was really great to see. I enjoyed the experience of giving something extra back to the residents especially during this time of isolation. It was a great way to interact with residents through food outside of our normal daily service.” – Nick Hurst, Sodexo Chef Manager and Operational Support Manager, Sodexo Seniors

For over 30 years, Sodexo has provided Quality of Life services to aged care facilities in Australia, contributing to the physical, mental, and social wellbeing of residents.  They are proud to partner with clients to deliver quality food and nutrition in a supportive facility.