Luke , tell us why you wanted to move into the healthcare space and what the menu roll out looks like .
Initially , it wasn ' t something I jumped on board with , but once I met Sally and understood her vision , I thought it was a great opportunity to make a difference and maybe set a path for others to follow . It ' s a fantastic relationship .
Sally , tell us about the Mater ’ s partnership with Luke and what you were really wanting to achieve through it .
In 2013 , we were the first hospital in Australia to introduce room service as a food service model . Patients can order what they feel like , when they feel like it , from an à la carte menu . This has led to significantly improved nutritional intake and patient satisfaction , and reduced food waste and costs . We wanted to take it to the next level , and we were really interested in working with a celebrity chef . I had known about Luke and his successes in challenging food service environments like planes , trains and cruise ships , so I thought he ’ d be a good fit . So at the beginning of 2021 , we were the first hospital in Australia to partner with a celebrity chef to introduce restaurant-style menus to our patients . It ' s been really well received .
We ' re really focusing on healthy , light food . They ’ re dishes you can have in our restaurants and we add Sally ' s touch , which makes it even better . It varies from vegetarian to chicken , fish and meat . Now we ' re working closely on more plant-based options as well . The beauty of it is it ' s cooked to order .
Luke , how have you found working in the hospital setting ? Have there been any challenges ?
It ’ s no different to what we do in our restaurants – that ' s why it works . We pick the fresh produce , cook it and serve it . There ' s no been no challenges , it ' s just about adjusting things we do in the restaurant , like reducing the portion size or removing some salt or sugar . Once we ' ve made those changes to our recipes , we serve them like that in the restaurants as well , because it doesn ' t really affect the end product . It actually makes it even better .
© Dietitian Connection 11 Infuse | October 2022