Chef Workshop Connects Team Members Far & Wide

Respect Aged Care |

At Respect, we recognise the vital role food plays in providing a healthy and happy environment for our residents to enjoy. Our teams of cooks and chefs are dedicated to supporting residents’ wellbeing through delicious and nutritious meals, with a focus on continually redefining what it means to dine in an aged care home. 

And for the first time ever, chefs from around our homes recently united for a special two-day workshop – with the focus on team member connection and collaboration. 

The much-anticipated workshop, which was held in Hobart, gave our chefs an opportunity to build cross-community links with their colleagues, share experiences and learnings, and discuss best practice approaches, including future innovation.

It was also a chance to hear from several guests – with Respect leaders as well as national food suppliers in attendance to meet with our participating staff. 

Mel Beilby, Respect’s Hotel Services Manager, organised the workshop along with her Respect colleagues, Cameron Taggart, Harry Singh and Dean Price. She says the meeting was a “wonderful success” that would “open the door for even more team member collaboration in the future”.

“We had about 25 of our chefs attend and it was amazing to finally have everyone together, from all across the country, in the same room,” Mel says. “Not only had the team never met each other before, but a couple hadn’t been on a plane before. So it’s fair to say there was a lot of excitement across the group!” 

“Workshops like this are a really significant and it’s an important step to build dialogue between staff working in the same roles but separated across our communities. Just the ability to discuss certain ways of doing things, or the different challenges they face as well as potential opportunities to improve and innovate our services… it was just so valuable. 

“It was also a wonderful way to celebrate and recognise our team members. Our chefs play such a vital role in each of our homes… they are all such an important and dedicated group. From new faces to those who have been working in their homes for years and years, we wanted to acknowledge everyone for all the great work that they do.” 

Several national food suppliers also jumped at the chance to support the workshop. One supplier, Reward Hospitality, also provided a particularly unique prize for a special competition held across the two days – which saw team members accrue points for correct responses to quiz questions, sharing ideas, or contributing their valuable perspective to discussions.  

And thanks to the great work of chef Marlene Brazendale from Peacehaven in Norwood, Tasmania, her home’s staff and residents will soon receive a very special visit from Mr Whippy for an afternoon of ice creams and fun!  

Looking towards the future, Mel shares her hope that the workshop will prove an effective launching pad for more ongoing connection amongst team members. 

“The feedback from everyone who attended has been fantastic. And we hope it’s just the start… not only for more face-to-face workshops like this in the future but also for making use of different avenues for ongoing communication,” she says. 

“Now that we’ve forged these connections, we look forward to keeping the momentum going so that every one of our chefs feels like they’re part of a single team who are keen to support each other and grow and develop Respect’s kitchen and food services.” 

Respect shares a big thank you to the suppliers who supported our workshop: Reward Hospitality, Comcater, Unilever, Robot Coupe, Priestley’s, Patties, Pure Food Co, Simplot, Birch and Waite, and Meyer Food Co.

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