In a 20-litre slow cooker, dietary staff often prepares stews and homemade beans in the dining room, creating an atmosphere that smells more like home. Appealing to residents’ senses stimulates appetite, says Don Houston, nutritional care manager at the Cobourg long-term care home.

Streamway was the first OMNI home to prepare toast in the dining room, so it wasn’t soggy by the time it arrived from the kitchen.

“It’s really nice to have the smell of toast in the home,” says Don.

Equally as important as appealing to residents’ sense of smell, is making the meal pleasing to the eye, Don says. Meals are prepared with extra attention paid to garnishes, like the watermelon slices, or canned peaches and apricots that decorate the residents’ breakfast plates each morning.

“It adds a little colour to the plate,” Don says. “The visual senses are what make a meal appetizing. The (dietary aides) take their time to plate it, rather than throw it.”

Residents appreciate the creative presentation of food, particularly when they can be part of the preparation, says Don. He recalls when residents helped prepare a pineapple upside-down cake, by mixing the batter and decorating it with cherries. They baked and ate the cake the same day. “It was a roaring success,” says Don.

Residents often help out with kitchen tasks like peeling potatoes and carrots. It gives residents ownership of the place where they live and keeps them active, Don says.