Subtle Transformations

The Luise Poloni Nursing Home has its own herb garden
Photos: Emmerich

SMOOTH FOOD AND PACOJET

Smooth Food is a diet concept from Herbert Thill for people who suffer from swallowing difficulties. Highly-nutritious and tasty meals are prepared in an ultra-fine consistency. Today’s preferred equipment for preparing smooth food is the Pacojet, which purees frozen ingredients into a filament-free consistency without thawing while maintaining the foods’ original intense flavours and vibrant colours. The puree can then be immediately prepared as required and poured into Pueriforms. Using this technique, guests can enjoy a visually appealing and delicious meal.

The Luise-Poloni Nursing Home in Tuebingen is breaking new ground in residential care. The emphasis here is not only on freshness and quality. Residents with swallowing difficulties are also rediscovering improved quality of life thanks to the preparation of "smooth food".

Taking personal eating habits of residents into consideration and offering a fine dining experience are very important to Markus Baier, regional head chef of the St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn Foundation, when it comes to the provision of meals for his guests. Together with his assistant, Alexander Eisele, and his team, he prepares lunch each day in countless variations for 120 people with diverse dietary requirements, and eating and swallowing difficulties, at the Luise Poloni Nursing Home. Whether in their original form, pureed, strained or foamed – midday meals are made with as many local and seasonal ingredients as possible and prepared with care and attention to detail. "We cook as if we were cooking for the residents in their own home and try to cater to their own preferences wherever possible," explains the motivated 44-year-old nursing home chef. "This approach in general cultivates a better image of care catering." As Markus Baier is considered a trailblazer in the industry with his catering concept, he is often visited by colleagues and nursing home managers looking for advice. It's no wonder then, that he holds regular seminars and courses. These include, for example, lectures such as "Nutrition in Advanced Dementia for Specialists and Care Giving Family Members" or "Tasty Meals even with Swallowing Difficulties". Furthermore, he teaches fine dining at the Evangelical Nursing Care School and supports pioneering work in education for nursing home cooking. The Foundation gives Markus Baier free reign at his place of business in Tuebingen: "We want to accentuate our somewhat different approach to living, nutrition and cuisine. Besides, we are the only home for the elderly in the area that teaches restauranteurs and chefs," reports nursing home director Carmen Conrad proudly, whose care home also offers a midday meal open to local residents from Lustnau and Pfrondorf and provides a 'meals on wheels' service.

Since the specially-prepared meat farce is missing the roasted aromas, Markus Baier tops the with butter and flambees it.

Eating based on individual needs

In keeping with the saying "stay as you are", the independence of residents at the Luise Poloni Nursing Home and their eating preferences should be maintained to the greatest extent possible. Thus there are, for example, no fixed breakfast times for the 60 men and women who live in the home. However, they sit together for the most important meal of the day and are free to choose what they like. The 8-person kitchen team, who begin work at 7 a.m., prepare a fresh fruit and vegetable drink each day to supplement residents' health. "The support workers then thicken the drinks as required in accordance with their personal needs", says Carmen Conrad. In general, emphasis is placed on the individual residents. Furthermore, five to ten percent of the residents looked after in the nursing home, and in the Foundation's other nursing home, St. Martin in Geislingen, suffer from dysphagia. They receive the same meals as their housemates, however theirs is adapted to a suitable form and consistency. In this instance, "smooth food" (developed by Herbert Thill) is served. Fresh, refined or frozen foods are prepared by cutting, mixing, pureeing, straining, pacotizing or foaming and are then formed into appetizing meals without loss of ingredients, flavouring or aromas. For example, if steak with peas and duchess potatoes are on the menu, a finely-pureed, filament-free farce will be prepared in the Pacojet, poured into the Pueriform and frozen. The meal will then be removed from the form, glazed with some butter and flambeed to give it a roasted flavour. "We try to stay true to the original form of the food wherever possible. For this reason, no prepared food supplements are used in the home, but rather are homemade", explains Markus Baier, who sets the bar high for himself and his team and constantly tries out new recipes. Finally, dementia patients and residents in need of special care require meals that have a high nutritional value. His kitchen therefore prepares meals high in whole wheat and pulse flour, which are both very rich and the latter high in protein. Beyond that, the former star chef makes foams and herbal essences that appeal to residents by enhancing flavours and aromas, stimulating the appetite. They also have antibacterial properties.

Routine workflow with modern cooking techniques

The Luise Poloni Nursing Home serves almost exclusively local and organic produce, with only 30 percent from convenience food. In order to prepare individualized meals for residents who have diverse dietary requirements, the kitchen must be specially outfitted: 20 Isi whippers, two Pacojets, a Hotmix, a Thermomix and all kinds of Puerforms (for the large variety of vegetables and meats) are used daily in addition to combi steamers, gas or induction stoves, kettles, multi-functional coolers, blast chillers and freezers. "We have all the latest technology in our kitchen and enjoy trying out new ideas for providing our residents with the best quality food that can be prepared with this equipment," continued the head chef of the St. Franziskus Heiligenbronn Foundation. The only thing that his kitchen team doesn’t yet have is a pastry chef. Immediately after preparing the juices and breakfast, the kitchen team begins lunch preparations. At 10:15 a.m., the meals for the nursing home in Geislingen in Grossgebinden must be assembled and placed on trays for transport. These are then regenerated on-site following the Cook & Chill process. The meals for the "meals on wheels" are portioned out into special Dinner Max porcelain dishes and sealed with flexible silicone lids and prepared for pick-up and regeneration for guests at home. Seven days a week at 12:00 p.m. at the Luise Poloni Nursing Home, residents are served freshly-prepared meals in their living quarters or at a dining table in the Café Luise. "All Swabian specialties, and all the favourites from the ever-changing weekly meal plan – for example classical Swabian raviolis on Friday, braised veal, yeast dumplings with cherries, roast beef with sauce, Swabian bread pudding or yeast plaits – are homemade." reports assistant chef Alexander Eisele. In addition to the regional dishes, much emphasis is placed on "interactive" meals. The Luise Poloni Nursing Home has, for example, an edible garden, which features raised beds with herbs and strawberries as well as small areas for private gardens. The residents, who also enjoy the occasional visit to the neighbouring sheep and goats in the adjacent enclosure, are welcome to try their hand at gardening. Over the summer there are also monthly barbecue parties with live music to bring as much enjoyment and festiveness into the home as possible. And while fish or Swabian raviolis are traditionally on the menu on Fridays, on Saturdays the highlight for residents is stew.

Meals are specially prepared for people with eating and swallowing difficulties. Here, for example, peas that have been pacotized are now being poured into pea Pueriforms, so they will look like real peas when served.

Restaurant business well-received

In addition to catering for their own residents, the Café Luise, which is normally open to local residents for lunch, turns into an à la carte restaurant for up to 20 persons on Friday evenings. In this delightful and stylish restaurant, guests are served a seasonal four-course meal with a small glass of wine once a month. The food and quality have earned an excellent reputation through word-of-mouth, creating a large demand and making reservations essential. "All guests are welcome – however only in the company of a senior," Markus Baier says with a smile. Students and younger residents of Tübingen would also gladly take advantage of this special gastronomic offer. The nursing home kitchen team will only set this up, however, if the nursing home manager preapproves a family party or wedding. The venue for such a party would be in the town hall next door to the Luise Polini Nursing Home, featuring an event room for 100 persons and a direct entrance to the church.

The special meals are frozen in their forms
until they must be slowly thawed
and regenerated for service

Care Catering Management 3-2014 Subtle Transformations

Translated from CareCatering Management 3-2014 Sanfte Veränderungen
by Martina Emmerich