Food at Red Oaks Care Home
Food and drink are an important part of all our lives, and a particularly enjoyable experience for those who live at Red Oaks. Our team of experienced chefs and kitchen assistants ensure that every meal is not only delicious, but reflects each individual’s likes, dislikes and dietary needs. They also love creating cakes for birthdays and other treats for special occasions to make those events that little bit sweeter. Sometimes we’ll even throw on the barbecue and cook up a storm in the summer heat. To get a flavour of the menu we serve here, please see the examples below:
Ian Middleton-Russell
Hello, my name is Ian, and I am the Senior Head Chef here at Red Oaks. Having had almost two decades managing catering operations within the care home environment, I am very pleased to be included in the team here. I am hugely passionate about delivering a nutritious, well-balanced and inviting meal time experience to those who are living in our care.
During my career, I have enjoyed various engaging roles, including Divisional Hospitality Manager, Regional Operations Manager and Head of Hospitality. My focus is to lead my team and work closely with the wider nursing and care teams to enable a whole-team approach to providing a dignified and person-centred dining experience, whilst also collaborating with the activities team to create fun-filled and exciting food-led events.
The catering team here work tirelessly in their endeavour to drive standards and create a memorable experience for all residents, and look forward to mentoring and leading them to every success.
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'.
