Burnbrae residents Charlotte Graydon, Coral Stollery, Isabel Anderson and Mage Tanner take part in the home's taste-test panel.
Burnbrae residents sample new winter menu
Thursday December 13, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
Residents at Burnbrae Gardens were presented with OMNI’s new winter menu Dec. 7, and staff members went out of their way to make the experience pleasurable.

Seated at tables dressed with linen and adorned with wine glasses, residents sampled some of the culinary specialties that will soon be available for the winter menu. Resident taste-test panels are a fairly new activity at OMNI’s 16 long-term care homes.

Christina Barr, the Campbellford long-term care home’s nutritional care manager, says they’ve been successful in determining which types of food residents enjoy most.

From her experience, she adds, these taste-test panels are unique to OMNI homes.

“This is the way that we’re getting (the resident’s) opinions,” says Barr, adding that residents’ likes and dislikes are sometimes a surprise for the dietary staff.

The event was made possible by dietary staff members Allison Cameron, Janet McInroy and Debbie Meiklejohn, who prepared the food and made sure each plate was garnished to make the presentation pleasing.

“We got really good opinions on the new items,” says Barr. “We got great ideas because a few of the items that were on it were things that we’ve never served before.”

Barr adds that these tasting panels speak volumes about OMNI’s commitment to residents.

“It’s comforting for the residents because it’s more like home cooking,” she says.

Chicken Kiev, Italian Swiss steak and roasted fall vegetables are some of the new foods which will be appearing on the menu in January.

But the clear favourites for residents were the roasted fall vegetables — a medley of turnips, beets and pearl onions — and the hearty homemade cream of cauliflower soup.

“The residents enjoyed the flavours, and the presentation was really nice,” says Barr.

The food had a big impact on one resident in particular, notes Barr. This resident eats very little at mealtimes. However, during the taste test the resident finished the three plates of food staff members had prepared for her to sample.

“We couldn’t believe it,” says Barr. “She smiled and she was winking at us the whole time.”