Crimson Manor Dementia Care Home achieve Food for Life Served Here Gold Certification

Tina Sanderson, Home Manager, felt strongly that Crimson Manor should hold Food for Life Served Here Certification. “I wouldn’t expect anyone living in our home to eat anything I wouldn’t eat myself, including ultra-processed foods. Good nutrition is vital for older people with dementia. Studies show brain disease is impacted by poor nutrition and there is lots you can do through food to counteract this.”

With mealtimes residents’ favourite part of the day, providing not only good food but a good environment is vital. “Part of why I chose to run a care setting was to provide the best quality of life for elderly people and food is a big part of that.”

“When I took over ten years ago all of the food was processed and frozen,” explains Tina. Now, all meals are cooked from scratch on site from fresh ingredients. “We make everything on-site, including bone broth, which is an easy way to add nutrition and calorie content to meals. Our bread is made fresh, our chicken and pork is all free range and we have our own chickens for eggs.”

As they worked towards certification, Crimson Manor hired chef Louis Hoff, whilst also ensuring that care staff were able to step in as needed to support with food preparation whilst maintaining the same quality.

Thirty percent of money spent on ingredients is on organic produce, including vegetables, cream, butter and eggs. When they need extra produce, it’s sourced from The Organic Pantry, a local farm, meaning they can prioritise seasonal vegetables. Crimson Manor’s food offer also supports the Bredesen Protocol, a personalised nutrition programme that aims to prevent and reverse cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. “Each of our residents has a personal diet plan tailored to their nutritional needs – it’s surprising what can be achieved when a food first policy is adopted.”

Now Food for Life Served Here Gold Certified, Tina can pass on some advice to any caterer considering working towards the same: “You can achieve a lot more in the kitchen than you may think. Start with an attitude that cooking fresh with good ingredients is possible, especially in a care setting, and make it happen. The support we have had has been great. It made the process straightforward, and I would feel more confident when it comes to the renewal of our certification.”

The passion and will to serve only the best food for the residents at Crimson Care shines through with everything Tina and her team do. To achieve certification is testament to all the work they put into developing their menus, providing the best nutrition for their dementia care.

“We’re thrilled to have acknowledgement for the effort we put into our food with something that’s a nationally recognised standard.”