We have recently introduced new menus across all our homes to improve the dining experience for our residents. We wanted to gauge how our managers and our kitchen staff have been getting along with the new changes, so we organised a ‘food discussion day’ at Brakes demonstration kitchen facility, in Reading. The manager and one cook from every single each Milkwood home attended, and were joined by Janet, Robin and Grant.

We started with a group discussion over breakfast, where everyone gave their feedback and shared their experiences of working with the new menus. We then came up with some new ideas and made suggestions about how we might further improve the menu dishes and choices.

There was a fun element to the day, when the manager and cook from each home participated in a version of the Ainsley Harriot TV show – Ready, Steady Cook. Each pair was given a different main ‘hero’ ingredient to use to make a dish, in just one hour. Janet, Grant, and Richard and Sally from Brakes judged the culinary creations of each home, awarding Milkwood House and The Orchard as winners.