Riversway Care Home, part of the Prime Life Group, is a 64-bed facility specialising in nursing and dementia care.
At the heart of their service is a commitment to offering residents freshly prepared, nutritious meals tailored to their specific dietary needs. This vital part of the residents’ daily experience required skilled chefs with expertise in modified diets.
Over a nine-year partnership, The Chef Tree has provided the reliable culinary support that Riversway needs to maintain these high standards.
Challenge: Navigating Staff Turnover and Specialised Diet Needs
Riversway Care Home faced staffing challenges, particularly during times of high turnover.
Recruiting chefs who could handle the complexities of modified diets—essential for many nursing home residents—proved increasingly difficult. The home had tried a few UK chef agencies over the years but often found the quality of service inconsistent.
As Sally, Riversway’s Manager, explained, “We needed reliability and chefs experienced with modified diets. You can’t run a nursing home without someone cooking the food.”
The Solution: A Long-Term Partnership with The Chef Tree
Since 2015, Riversway has relied on The Chef Tree for dependable culinary staffing. With a values-led recruitment approach, The Chef Tree consistently delivered chefs skilled in care-focused nutrition, particularly modified diets, ensuring that residents’ unique dietary needs were met.
Key benefits included:
- Expertise in Modified Diets: The chefs were well-versed in creating meals suitable for IDDSI standards, requiring minimal training.
- Reliable Coverage: With a high fulfilment rate, The Chef Tree has always been able to supply chefs even on short notice. Sally recalled, “If we needed something last minute, you could normally help us out.”
- Professional Office Support: Riversway praised the seamless communication with The Chef Tree’s office team, noting their courtesy, efficiency and responsiveness.
Results: Consistent Quality and Trust Built Over Time
Our partnership allowed Riversway to continue providing high-quality, nutritious meals while relieving the pressure on their kitchen team. Issues were rare and when they arose they were addressed promptly.
Sally summarised, “We’ve always found The Chef Tree reliable, with good staff who understand the importance of modified diets. That’s exactly what we needed.”
Looking Ahead, although Riversway is currently fully staffed, Sally is confident that The Chef Tree remains their go-to option if future needs arise. “We would definitely consider use your services again,” she said.
Client Testimonial:
“The experience your chefs had with modified diets was exactly what we needed. We’ve always found you reliable and able to help us out, even last minute. That’s made a huge difference to us.”
– Sally, Manager, Riversway Care Home
If this sounds like help you need for your care home, please do get in touch!
The Chef Tree – Southwest Office: 071 8604 611 West Midlands Office: 0121 227 4979