Taste Sensations

Bringing together residents and staff over delicious meals.

At Montefiore, we’re constantly looking for new ways to engage with residents and empower them with choice. And there’s no better way to do this than through getting creative at mealtime.

Over the last year, residents and staff at Woollahra have been sharing cooking tips and recipes, a way to connect and learn from and about each other.

In August 2023, residents celebrated the Italian holiday of Ferragosto with a pizza making session. Italian resident Alberta demonstrated the traditional way of making pizza and spoke about the origin of the holiday, the festival of emperor Augustus, who made 1st August a day of rest after weeks of hard work on the agricultural sector.

Residents loved making (and later eating) their pizzas!

Woollahra resident Del with her homemade pizza.

Woollahra has also hosted several ‘Teach the Chef’ events, where residents switch places with Montefiore’s chefs to teach them their methods of making classic and favourite dishes. It’s a great way to connect with residents, their history, families and community. All three sessions so far have been incredibly successful, with residents loving the opportunity to share much-loved recipes, including chicken soup, chopped liver and Durban chicken curry.

“The impact of the first Teach the Chef was immediate and fantastic,” says Jonathan Hirst, General Manager Catering. “We tried the new chicken soup recipe at Woollahra – the feedback from the residents was that the chicken soup had never tasted better. The success of the chicken soup morning led to the Teach the Chef program being rolled out across the organisation.”

You can read more about the Teach the Chef program (and try the chicken soup recipe for yourself) in the Pesach 2023 issue of LIFE.

Montefiore Administrative Assistant, Laura, making chopped liver with residents at Woollahra.

Evoking memories through food is important as we age, helping to maintain a sense of identity and connection to the past. With programs like Teach the Chef, and Montefiore’s daily silver service dining, residents experience the joy of sharing much-loved meals together.

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