Souper success leads to launch of exciting new Major menu

A year ago, Brian Eastment, executive development chef at leading stocks, sauces and marinades manufacturer, Major International and Chris Neale food production manager at Nottingham Hospital’s NHS Trust, went on a mission to persuade Nottingham hospital cooks to ditch their powdered soup and make it fresh from local produce and Major stock bases.

Overcoming initial resistance and concerns from the hospital cooks regarding the extra time it would take to cook the soups from scratch, they successfully launched a range of fresh home-made soups using Major’s high quality stocks containing no artificial additives, preservatives or allergens.

The feedback from patients was very positive with one stating that “the soup is as good as that served in any top class hotel.”

Keen to provide patients recovering from illness with the most appetising and nutritious foods possible, Chris Neale and Brian Eastment have continued to work in partnership to develop a new fresh, daily menu featuring recipes and stock bases from Major International.

Brian Eastment, development chef, at Major explains: “Mealtimes are an important part of the day for a hospital patient. The ordering, expectation and the eating of the meal, is a highlight of the day for many patients.”

High volume caterers such as hospitals face a challenge to maintain consistency and quality on a relatively small cost per head but nutrition is always the bedrock in the good care and recovery of a patient.

Brian continues: “We have redesigned the Nottingham Hospital menu to include nutritionally sound dishes with fresh, better quality ingredients and improved flavours. I worked with Chris over twelve months, to create recipes with a balance and mix of appealing dishes that include patients’ favourites such as shepherd’s pie, beef lasagne, navarin of lamb, chicken chasseur and pork steak with mustard and white wine sauce.

“It was a painstaking process. We firstly developed the base recipes, worked out the method and then analysed exactly what constituted one portion. Each portion had to be weighed and the nutritional content analysed.”

The development team used the Menu Mark computer software programme designed to multiply the base recipe by the number of portions required. This produced a methodical and efficient way of working to ensure that taste, quality and presentation would always be consistent. Providing the ingredients and method were followed there would be no wastage. The base recipes were then passed to the dieticians to manage the calorific and nutritional values.

Prior to launching the menu, the dishes were trialled in the on-site staff restaurant. Chris Neale Nottingham Hospital food production manager at Nottingham Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “If a dish is good enough for patient feeding then it is good enough to sell in our restaurant.”

The new daily menu with a choice of three hot main courses will be placed on the patients’ bedside tables to whet their appetites. Patients do not have to place their orders in advance, and they can wait and see how they feel and what their appetite is like, making their selection from the trolley at the meal time. The Trust’s Nottingham Hospital catering team relies on communications from the waitressing team to feedback the take up/monitor the number of meals required.

An in-house waitress takes the patient’s lunch order each morning and in the evening. In the evening there is an emphasis on lighter options such as soups, sandwiches and salads. The waitressing team have sampled all the dishes and been trained to advise patients. The waitressing team will monitor take up and liaise with Chris Neale, to pass on feedback from patients.

Chris Neale explains: “The healthier daily menu is a vital piece of the jigsaw. Not only will the patients reap the obvious benefits of healthier food but the local economy will receive a boost as we make every effort to source local produce. We use a local butcher and our vegetable suppliers are only four miles away and where possible they source root vegetables from local farmers.

It is cost effective to use local producers who can deliver a range of fresh diary, meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables and we are also reducing our carbon footprint at the same time.

“The launch of the new menu and recipes has allowed us to introduce a new, more efficient store system. All recipes and ingredients are printed out using a software programme. The ingredients are now pre-weighed according to the recipe and placed on the recipe trolley ensuring that only the exact ingredients and weight goes into the dish. Over the last few months our food and provisions budget has increased by an average of 20%, however I firmly believe that the launch of the new daily menu and the new controlled store system will not only offset the increase but will deliver strict portion control and consistency.”

As a direct result of working with Major International, Nottingham Hospital now has an invaluable resource – a recipe book packed full of delicious, nutritionally balanced dishes. This project also successfully demonstrates the level of commitment that Major International offers its customers. It is hoped that this model for healthier patient feeding will receive interest in the future from other NHS trusts.