Garnishing – Is There Space In Hospital Food Services?
Think back to your most recent satisfying meal experience. Was it in the company of your family or a treasured friend? Was it a simple meal in the comfort of your own home? Was it a celebratory dinner in a restaurant that paid attention to details and presented you with a thoughtful and decadently prepared meal? Do you remember the flavours, the textures and how this meal made you feel?
Most of us can remember back to a special meal or more importantly, get to routinely enjoy dinners that leave us feeling satiated physically and emotionally.
For many people in hospitals or long term care, the pleasure of meal time is greatly diminished because they are often alone, they may not have family that come to share in mealtime, their spouse and friends are not likely with them and they have no control over the types of meals they are offered and no opportunity to help prepare them. For people, many of them women, who have spent much of their lives caring for their loved ones through food, this can be a very hard transition.
Now I am not trying to say that we should have residents and patients in the kitchen helping on the beltline, what I am suggesting is that the care and attention to detail around meal time from ingredient selection to plating and finally through to the delivery of the tray to the patient, is vital in increasing the patient’s experience at your facility and is important in their overall well-being. Budgets are tight, staffing is limited, meal selections are dependent on what is available in the market and through your distributors, but kitchen staff are a vital piece of the puzzle and the last people to have contact with the plate and the food before a patient receives their tray; this final step can make a world of difference.
Garnishing a plate provides the opportunity to infuse an item with colour and freshness even when the item is not made in your facility. It speaks to attention to detail, thoughtfulness and care all of which are present in home cooking which is often not possible in a hospital or long term care facility.
Some simple ideas to dress up your plate and liven up mealtime for your patients:
- A wedge of lemon with a fish, chicken or pork entrée – this inexpensive garnish brightens up the taste of the food when a patient adds it right before eating and heightens the visual appeal of the tray.
- Adding pre-chopped fresh herbs – a little sprinkle goes a long way to amping up the freshness factor on your tray.
- Top a premade dessert with a fresh strawberry for a little pretty on the plate.
- Try adding lettuce back to sandwiches, it will be a negligible increase in cost and will make the sandwiches a little more like home – try using prewashed baby spinach or red leaf lettuce for that extra appeal.
- On days when French toast or pancakes are being served, add a few fresh blueberries to the plate or in a small dish on the cold side to dress up a favourite.
- Ask your distributor what other types of washed and chopped greenery or fruit they have that could be added to your trays; don’t be concerned with investigating a slightly higher priced fresh garnish since very little of it is used on each tray.
The next time you are eating out at a restaurant, pay attention to the small details, how do they increase the satisfaction you get from your meal, does it improve the taste and texture of your food?
Take these ideas back to work with you and share some of your favourite mealtime traditions and experiences with your patients; they are sure to appreciate it.
