This past summer, The Scarborough Hospital launched an exciting new project to improve patient satisfaction with food at our General campus by adding more fresh, local food cooked from scratch to inpatient meals.

From the very beginning, sharing our story during this transition with other Ontario hospitals and my counterparts who run the patient food services departments has been an integral part of our plan.

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ReFRESHing our Menu aims to dramatically improve patient food satisfaction at The Scarborough Hospital’s General campus by adding more fresh food cooked from scratch to inpatient meals. Through a $191,000 grant from the provincial government and the Greenbelt Fund, the project will also increase the amount of Ontario-grown food on patient trays. 

Read on for the details about our innovative and exciting new program.

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It was a true ’hands on’ learning experience! On August 24, members of the Nutrition and Food Services department at the General campus visited an Ontario farm to gain a better understanding of the physical, economic and environmental impacts of the industry.

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There are two philosophies about planning I like to remember when embarking on any project. First: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”, and second: “The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray” (apologies to my Gaelic friends).

I have a healthy respect for both of these philosophies, so I am comfortable with telling you that we do have a plan, we just don’t have all the details worked out yet!

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“Very soothing.” “A delicious alternative.” “A real home cooked feel.”

This was just some of the feedback from a group of staff, physicians and community members who gathered on October 5 to sample a new congee that will soon be served to patients at the General campus as part of ReFRESHing our Menu.

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What do a hospital kitchen and a fine dining restaurant have in common? When you are part of The Scarborough Hospital’s patient food improvement project ReFRESHing our Menu, the answer is: lots.

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One of the major goals of The Scarborough Hospital’s ReFRESHing our Menu project is to raise awareness of the importance of fresh, local food in institutional settings. Two recent presentations at Sustain Ontario events show how the hospital is achieving this goal.

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I am! I’ve never been busier or happier at work than I am right now.

We are in full swing with production equipment specifications, assembly pod equipment selection and new recipe and menu development. We are talking about IT and the new staffing model and will soon establish working committees.

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Mix together:

1 committed corporate sponsor
1 Nutrition and Food Services team eager and able to improve service
1 network of supportive players from other TSH departments
2 skilled external food services contractors
1 large full service conventional kitchen
Sufficient internal and external capital funding

Stir in frequently:

1 creative corporate communications department

Bake in a hot environment for about 12 months

Serves 300

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General campus NFS Manager Susan Bull talks with RVHS Support Services Leader Rohan Gonsalves

One of the major goals of The Scarborough Hospital’s ReFRESHing our Menu project is to inspire another hospital to undertake a similar project. On November 14, TSH took an important step in this direction by hosting Rouge Valley Health System Support Services Leader Rohan Gonsalves.  

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Proud members of the Scarborough Hospital UK’s ’Catering’ department

Although we’re an ocean apart, our names and our projects are shockingly similar.

Last May, the ‘Scarborough Hospital’ in the United Kingdom took part in a programme called Operation Hospital Food, which set out to transform patient food and, in many ways, mirrors The Scarborough Hospital’s ReFRESHing our Menu project.

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I have so much to tell you!

As I reflect on the first six months of ReFRESHing our Menu, I realize our learning to date has been as much about what not to do as what to do.

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So much has been happening; it’s hard to keep up!

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Debbie Lennox with Canoe Chef de Cuisine John Horne

As Chef in The Scarborough Hospital’s General campus Nutrition and Food Services department, Debbie Lennox has spent the majority of her 29-year career making great meals for hundreds of hospital patients each day.

But on January 17, Debbie donned her chef’s jacket for a much different experience: a day in the kitchen at the Oliver & Bonacini restaurant, Canoe.

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Chefs Rodney Bowers and Joshna Maharaj serve the special meal to patient Rob Carter

Patients at The Scarborough Hospital’s General campus were treated to an extra special Maritime-inspired lunch on February 8 prepared by Toronto-based Chef Rodney Bowers.

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TSH staff were eager to try some of the new menu items for the first time

Delicious, very tasty and fresh. These were just some of the very positive comments received at a special ReFRESHing our Menu event March 7 where staff, physicians and volunteers sampled some of the new dishes that patients will soon be able to enjoy every day.

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General campus NFS Manager Susan Bull issues a heartfelt ’thank you!’ to consultant chef Joshna Maharaj

What is the line Carol Burnett used to use? ”Seems we just get started and before you know it, comes the time we have to say so long.” (Okay how many of you – over the age of 40 – were singing along with this as you read!).

Sad but true, at the end of this month our celebrity chef and now good friend Joshna Maharaj, will be leaving us. No doubt for exciting opportunities! From her TV career, to her many other appearances in broadcast, print and online media, she is certainly someone to watch in 2012 and beyond.

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