Country Court are delighted to announce Catering Operations Support Manager, Ivon Peplow, has won the Creed IDDSI Care Chef of the Year competition. The competition shines a spotlight on the skill and innovation involved in creating high-quality dishes for care home residents requiring specialist diets.
The International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) Framework is an international set of descriptors describing texture-modified foods and thickened liquids for people with eating, drinking and swallowing problems (dysphagia) covering all ages, in all care settings, and for all cultures.
Ivon said, "This is a passion for me. I believe that all residents, no matter what they are having to deal with physically or mentally, are treated and given the same dignity and respect for all food. The judges were industry experts in the field of IDDSI, so it was a great honour to receive this award. We had to include our recipe, method, costing, and nutritional aspect, and consider presentation, colours and flavours and most importantly making sure that the meal is of the correct texture as for a Level 4 meal."
The four finalists were asked to produce an IDDSI Level 4 main course suitable for residents in a care home, all while considering factors such as cost, nutritional value, presentation, and, most importantly, texture. Level 4 is for extremely thick or pureed foods, with the use of thickened liquids and texture-modified food.
Ivon had two hours to produce his dish of Italian Chicken with Smoked Bacon, served with Roasted Garlic Cannellini Beans with White Wine, Olive Oil Roasted Baby Plum Red and Yellow Tomatoes, Roasted Courgettes, with Basil Dressing.
Judging the competition were Jamie Clews from Robo-Coupe, Rob Owen Executive Development Chef for Creed Foodservice Ltd, and Preston Walker, Director at Oak House Kitchen. Preston is an industry expert on IDDSI and on the IDDSI UK panel and a leading light and innovator for IDDSI UK.
“We are very proud of Ivon’s achievement” said Anwar Kajee Director of Hospitality at Country Court. “This is a very skilled but often overlooked area of catering, and Ivon has been a great advocate for IDDSI food at Country Court. We are delighted that he has received some well-deserved recognition for his passion for creating high-quality inclusive dishes for residents.”
You can read more about catering for residents with special diets here.
