Care Group Launches New Cookbook as it Continues to Champion Person-Centred Catering
A family-run care group is looking to highlight the importance of inclusive and nutritious food within the care sector as it launches its own cookbook — offering a collection of residents’ favourite recipes from across its care community.
A collection of 28 mouth-watering dishes and drinks, the book is now available on Nellsar’s website as an e-book, as the South East care group looks to support the kitchen teams at all 13 of its homes, as well as members of the public who may be caring for an elderly relative and struggling to find appropriate food options.
Crafted by Cosmin Cristea, Head Chef at Princess Christian Care Centre in Woking, Nellsar’s Head of Nutrition and Wellness Leni Wood, and Head of Catering Services Adrian Silaghi, ‘Nellsar Care and Cookery’ is a celebration of its person-centred care catering and nutritional expertise.
The book contains a varied selection of seasonal recipes, which outlines the ingredients, methods and a top nutritional tip for each dish, as it looks to both nourish and educate its readers. Some of the recipes are adapted to fit differing dietary requirements and ensure that optimal nutrition is achieved, whilst remaining sympathetic to those living with dementia or diabetes.
Commenting on the launch, Cosmin said:
“What I most enjoy about my job as Head Chef is having the opportunity to cook for our residents and guests; seeing the satisfaction on everyone’s faces really makes me happy. Cooking and baking have become my number one passion which encourages me to continuously develop new recipes and work with new flavours. This cookbook embodies everything Nellsar stands for in terms of nutrition and with the support of Leni and Adrian, we are immensely proud of what we have created and hope it goes down as well as the recipes within it.”
Cosmin continued: “As one of the longest-serving Chefs among our group of Homes, I hope to inspire with my work and shine a light on how fulfilling a culinary career in adult social care can be. My future aspirations include finishing my Management NVQ, developing my team and elevating our catering provision to a whole new level with new and innovative menus. I have also cherished the opportunity to engage with residents in my ‘Cooking with Cosmin’ classes. From pan-frying fish, to flipping pancakes or frying the perfect egg, residents at the home are bustling with excitement at the opportunity to get cooking!”
Leni Wood added: “When a resident moves into one of our Homes, we ask them in detail about their tastes and food preferences and set about establishing their nutritional and clinical needs. This is then followed by menu planning to ensure we cover all aspects of safe nutrition and ultimately, serve what our resident enjoys. Within this, we cater for a range of special and sometimes complex diets, including diabetic, coeliac and texture modified for example — all the while ensuring all our food looks and tastes delicious! The cookbook is designed to cater for a variety of different requirements and highlights not only the complexity of care home catering but also the room for creativity.”
