You eat with your eyes
To create a pleasurable dining experience for residents during meal-time, Goodwin’s internationally trained head chef Sandeep Vaid has led training for 12 in-house catering staff on food service and presentation.
“Goodwin’s food philosophy to create delicious food for residents that is nutritionally beneficial extends to our belief in the importance of presenting and creating a special dining experience for residents,” says Executive Manager Residential Care, Robyn Boyd. “It goes to quality of life.”
That philosophy led to the hiring of Sandeep in the first place, with his background in international hotel chains and restaurants, including the Michelin-starred restaurant in London, Claridges, where he trained under Gordon Ramsay. In 2003 Sandeep was named New Zealand’s Chef of the Year for the Hilton Group. In that same year the International Culinary Federation awarded Sandeep a bronze medal in a competition that included 250 chefs from Asia Pacific countries.
“It is really important to present the food professionally and with care as the aesthetics are all part of the taste experience”, Sandeep says. “You eat with your eyes.”
Sandeep’s training for Goodwin staff will be ongoing, to ensure they continuously present food to a very high standard.
During training Sandeep emphasised the importance of communicating to the residents professionally and creatively on exactly what they were being served.
To meet the professional standards of a high quality restaurant Goodwin catering staff were schooled in best-practice methods for service, pouring wine, creating beautiful table settings and plating food attractively.
“Goodwin values our residents, and in so doing believes the whole dining experience ought to be pleasurable and to a high standard”, says Robyn. “This new, ongoing training for food service staff is part of a wider program towards this goal.”