BUNDALEER Lodge Nursing Home is celebrating one year in the Maggie Beer Foundation’s Trainer Mentor Program, marking a significant shift in how food, flavour and dining are approached within the home.
The program, led onsite by Chef Ryan Bonds, has helped transform both kitchen practices and the overall dining culture for residents.
Co Executive Managers Susan and Lynette Dreyer said the most noticeable change has been the improvement in meal quality and preparation.
“The kitchen staff have learned how to properly sear and tenderise meats, make soups and stocks from scratch, and really fine tune presentation,” they said.
“Even something simple like a chicken sandwich now starts with roasting a whole chicken. They’re using more herbs, more colour – it’s a big step up.”
Chef Bonds said the focus on flavour has been central.
“We build flavour at every opportunity through cooking techniques,” he said. “The team has embraced everything, and even new staff have been brought along using a ‘I do, we do, you do’ model.”
Dining spaces have also been refreshed with hydration stations, fresh fruit displays and clearer menu communication.
The team has experimented with sensory cues, like occasionally baking fresh bread, to gently encourage residents to come to the dining room.
“It’s still their choice; it’s their home,” Susan said. “But we try to make the experience inviting.”
The changes have had a measurable impact. Staff report fewer cases of weight loss, improved appetite and more residents choosing to dine socially.
“We’re fortifying meals with extra protein, adding smoothies at breakfast, and offering more variety,” Lynette said.
“Residents are staying out of their rooms longer and engaging more.”
Soups, scratch-made stocks, honey-glazed vegetables and improved stews have become resident favourites.
Feedback forms introduced through the program have also encouraged residents to share specific suggestions from adding spinach to omelettes to adjusting seasoning.
When asked whether the program had changed the home’s dining culture, Susan offered a gentle reminder.
“Absolutely – and remember, it’s an aged care home, not a facility.”
Both managers say they would “definitely” recommend the program to other aged care homes, noting the improvements had been undeniable.
