Textured food in care homes and the innovative culinary approach in healthcare

Abstract

Summary: The aim of our approach is to promote food intake, preserve pleasure while addressing nutritional needs and bring comfort and pleasure to the elderly population.Textured food and the innovative culinary approach of Elior healthcare provided the co-construction between nutrition and culinary for altered taste. A combination of expertises and Elior's catering knowledge about dietary constraints provided a solid base for innovation in the re-texturing of food and beverage required for modified texture food.The proposed approach mixes nutritional science and gastronomy advanced by a strong research and development framework. The successful outcomes demostrated the benefits of collaboration between dietitians and chefs as a specialised team.These actions create a sense professionalism in healthcare to meet the goals and missions that promote shared experiences to promote best pratices and field experiences.Our innovative culinary method benefited from the involvement of geriatricians, speech therapists, ad other professions to evaluate our products and our approaches. On the basis of our approach we now have a community of 9 chefs and 8 dietitians.

Keywords

• Personalized texture
• Dysphagia
• Healthcare
• Culinary innovation
• Food service solutions