Home cooking put to the test at Springdale
Thursday, December 7, 2006 -- Natalie Miller
Oven-baked rice pudding, homemade tea biscuits and beef stew made from scratch arouse memories of an old-fashioned winter meal for residents of Springdale Country Manor.

Personal support worker Brenda Stainton learned this information during casual conversation with a group of residents while clearing the tables recently at the Springville long-term care home.

“We got talking about home-cooked meals and the good old days,” explains Brenda.

Inspired, she proposed to the residents she would make them that meal. Her idea took off from there.

On Dec. 7, five teams composed of staff and residents will make the dishes for a taste-test cook-off at Springdale. Momentum started building once Brenda put a photo of her team on a bulletin board at the home, challenging others to prepare this particular meal from scratch.

“It flourished more than I could have thought,” says Brenda.

“They’ve been pumped ever since. I felt the best way to get people together was a challenge.”

She says residents and staff are teaming up and pouring over old cookbooks with residents contributing with the recipe formation and preparation of the food. Teams gathered at different times in the home’s restorative kitchen to get cooking.

When Brenda spoke to the OMNIway Wednesday, her team captain, a resident, was stirring the rice pudding. The team captains are all residents and are inviting family members to join them for the taste-testing and meal. “They can sit down with their family members for a home-cooked meal they’ve made,” says Brenda.

As well, each team captain will invite a resident, who for whatever reason doesn’t participate in activities, as a VIP.

Residents and staff will put the food to the test and then choose which dishes they would like for lunch. By charging staff members for their meal, the home plans to raise money for future contests.

“We’ve had so much fun with it,” Brenda says. “The aromas are all throughout the home.”