CHRISTMAS
Deck the Streets with Summerset’s Christmas Party
For Gina Collins-Smith, the regional food lead for Summerset Lower North Island, food is about bringing people together and creating life-long memories.
remember being three years old, with a tea towel tied around my waist like an apron, flour in my hair with my grandmother showing me how to shape the sultana scones. “The love I felt in that moment is something I have never forgotten. It is what inspired me to embrace cooking as a form of communication and expression.” Collins-Smith was the managing chef at
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Summerset by the Ranges for nearly a decade before moving into her current position. “I wanted to provide a high level of customer and food service to the residents, and now, I am in a position to share my knowledge and experience with fellow chef managers.” Collins-Smith helps the village chefs create homely and nutritionally sound menus, serving the food on bespoke, dementia-friendly plates that Summerset designed with Southern Hospitality. “A study showed that residents consume up to 25 percent more food when using a red plate. The red rim also provides a plate edge reference guide for residents. “Red is a stimulating colour for dementia patients, and it provides contrast with food and promotes appetite.” For those on texture modified diets, CollinsSmith uses Pure Foods. After trialling this product, Collins-Smith found that not only did residents consume up to 40 percent more food, but it also cut down on labour in the kitchen. “Using Pure Foods saves us a full eight-hour shift by removing the labour-intensive processes of creating texture modified foods. It gives the kitchen time to focus on attention to detail,” said Collins-Smith.
