To begin the day, Cygnet Procurement Manager, Marc Tough gave a short presentation to our Cygnet Chefs on the key objectives of the day. These included:
- Meet the Brakes team.
- Meet & network with other Cygnet chefs.
- See a Brakes Depot in action.
- Learn new skills & techniques with a Brakes Development Chef.
- Learn new methods to present food.
- See simple changes that can be made to improve quality.
- Learn how to get the most out of the Brakes website.
- Learn to get the most out of Nutritics.
- Talk to our Service Users & Experts by Experience about food.
- Make new contacts with Nutritionists and industry experts.
Following the presentation, two service users, accompanied by Jamie-Leigh Dakin (Quality Lead), from Cygnet Hospital Sheffield dialled into the meeting on a Zoom call to share feedback on food quality directly to the chefs. The service users shared current experiences with food, how it makes them feel, what chefs can be doing better and what they would like to see changed. With this direct insight, we had hoped would trigger some inspiration amongst our chefs.
The chefs were then divided into two groups as the day was split into sessions. One group would attend a Brakes depot tour just downstairs from the innovation kitchen. The depot tour allowed our chefs to gain a wider understanding and perspective into the huge operational scale to which their food products are stored, picked & delivered to site. Following the tour, our Brakes account manager had prepared a presentation on the benefits of using Brakes such as ordering online, utilising an approved buying list, benefits of using Nutritics recipe building software and getting the most out of Brakes online.
The second group went to the innovation kitchen to explore some of cuisines of the world. Chefs were asked to pair up and select a country from the “sorting hat”. The country picked represented a recipe in which the chefs were challenged to create an authentic dish using a box of cost effective/tasty ingredients. These countries/cuisines were: Japanese, Indian, American, Indonesian, Mexican and Jamaican.
At lunchtime, our Chefs had the opportunity to hear directly from representatives from food brand Quorn. Quorn demonstrated that their product can be used 50:50 as a cost effective yet nutritional substitute for meat products within recipes and were able to give samples of their product for lunch. A big shock to everyone was learning that if all UK care home residents swapped just 1 minced beef meal once a week to 50:50 Quorn, 38,012 tonnes of C02e would be saved a year!
After a nutritional lunch both groups alternated their sessions. To conclude the day prizes were awarded to some of the chefs for their efforts with the cooking tasks as well as reflecting on a hugely successful day.
Gordon Bailey, Cygnet’s Procurement Director, said: “I would like to extend my thanks to each and every participant for taking the time to travel and share their culinary passion. The dedication and creativity on display were truly inspiring.
“From innovative dishes to traditional favourites, the collaboration between these talented chefs produced a feast for the senses. The flavours, textures, and presentation were nothing short of extraordinary.
“But this event was about more than just delicious food. It was about fostering a sense of community, focusing on the people in our care, sharing knowledge, and pushing the boundaries of culinary art.”