Food at Harton Grange Care Home
Our menus are composed of only the best fresh produce and cooked to the highest quality, with aims for the natural aroma and taste to be retained as best as possible. A great deal of care is taken to accommodate all dietary requirements, and our meals are always prepared with the likes and dislikes of residents taken into consideration. We can guarantee that there is something for everyone on our menu, which you can view below:
Joy Whitlock
My name is Joy and I have worked at Harton Grange as a head chef for the past 14 years. During my time here I have worked with the VIP openings of Barchester new build. I am also the Senior Head Chef trainer for the north and Scottish divisions, running the chef academy where we run workshops to train and enhance the skills of other Barchester chefs.
I have just been given one of the positions of senior head chef which will support ten other head chefs in my region when needed and help the hospitality manager after their visits to these homes. I have always been very passionate about my job here, preparing and cooking good nutritious meals for our residents and showcasing our wonderful hospitality to all visitors who come into our home. I have a great catering team and try and lead them to the best of my ability and to have the same passion as myself. I get involved and organise theme days within the home, also fund raising throughout the year for our residents funds.
My family can see how much I enjoy my job and often asking when I am going to retire, my answer is always “I am not ready to hang up my chef hat as I have yet more to give”
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'.
