Luke , what would be your advice to other chefs who might want to get into the healthcare arena ?
I think you ' ve got to have an open mind and make sure the team you ' re working with are on board . You ' ve got to be adaptable and understand it ' s not just about your food – it ' s about the whole experience of it and how it ' s delivered .
And Sally , what ’ s your advice to other dietitians who want to go down your path ?
Just do it . So many people think it ' s such a hard thing to do , and I ' m not saying it ' s easy , but it ' s so achievable . If I can betray my own profession a little bit – dietitians have a tendency to really focus on the nutrition , which is great , but they do need to understand the drivers from the production and kitchen side of things , too . The food service team are very aware of budget and cost constraints , and sometimes I think dietitians find it difficult to understand this . So my advice to dietitians , if they haven ' t already , is to spend time in the kitchen . We ' re all bound together by the same passion for food , so start to collaborate with chefs to understand how they work . I think it ' s also having that trust to be able to have really robust conversations so you can work through things and understand each other .
What does success look like when it comes to the food offering in the acute care hospital setting ?
Sally : If you look at the food service and the patient experience holistically , and focus on the end goal being a good patient experience , a lot of the other key drivers fall into place . If the patient is happy , they tend to have better nutritional intake and there is less food waste , so you see a reduction in food costs . Success to me is a combination of all those things .
Luke : Longevity . You can ' t just do one thing and walk away . You ' ve got to be consistent at serving a great product . Yes , it ' s good when you get accolades along the way , but you shouldn ' t look for accolades . You should reward the teams under you and have fun with it .
Communication is the key to success .
© Dietitian Connection 13 Infuse | October 2022