Food at Atfield House Care Home
The catering team at Atfield House has 3 very dedicated chefs who offer nutritional and delicious meals and snacks. They take great pride in the food that is served to our residents and use the feedback comments cards wisely to adjust the menu. We have a Food Committee comprising of residents, relatives, friends and staff who discuss all aspects of catering at Atfield House to enable us to continuously improve this service for our Residents. For a taste of what we offer, see our example menus below.
Robert Rakoczy
Hi, my name is Robert, and I am the Acting Head Chef here Atfield House. I have been working at Atfield House since 2006. I am now Head Chef, my role is to produce a fresh, nutritious and well-balanced menu suited to the needs of each resident. I enjoy chatting with residents and their visitors and ensuring that they enjoy the food I have prepared.
Dietary requirements
For residents who have difficulties swallowing, we modify the menu of the day so that the dishes are more palatable for them. To support our chefs in producing these dishes, our hospitality team and our Chef Academy organise theory and practical workshops. The chefs work with the chef trainer to prepare tasty, modified meals safely and according to IDDSI frame work. This encourages residents to eat and enjoy their food. All our chefs have been trained in IDDSI food descriptors.
Attracting top chefs
Our chefs are recruited on the basis of an interview with the regional hospitality support team and the manager of the home. Selection also involves a practical element, where potential chefs are asked to cook for and meet a panel of people living in the home. Chefs take their job extremely seriously and the annual Barchester Chef Competition sees our chefs battle it out in regional heats and then at a national final for the accolade of 'Barchester's Chef of the Year'.
