NTW Solutions have put service users in the driving seat as part of a series of menu tasting sessions. Food is a hugely important part of life and especially so for those receiving hospital treatment. The feedback from the day will play a role in revamping patient menus.

Service users and staff across Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW) and NTW Solutions enjoyed a tasty treat or two, courtesy of our Central Catering Team and a few of our catering providers.

The Catering Team partnered with our food suppliers, NH Case, Simply Food Solutions and Harvest Foods to organise different menu sampling sessions for service users at Northgate Park, St Nicholas Hospital and Hopewood Park.

The team collaborated with Patient Forums to whittle down a huge range of options to what was served on the day. They personally selected the final sampling menu, which was much appreciated by those tasting on the day!

The nature of a hospital stay means that you can’t just go to the shops and choose what you want to eat so making sure the menus we provide are interesting and desirable is imperative to our Central Catering team.

Everyone got involved and had the chance to sample the menu, including service users, the catering staff, and clinical staff like the Dieticians and Nurses. The menu included interesting combos like Fish Finger Roll Sandwiches, Irish Stew and others such as Chicken Makhani and BBQ Pulled Pork.

One of the clear winners during the Northgate tasting was definitely the Venison Bourguignon! Comments included:

“Really tender meat, love the texture and the sauce is amazing!

“This would be popular with everyone!”

The Catering Team and the wonderful chefs from the suppliers were incredibly hands on, making sure to ask every tester for their opinions and helping to rate the food choices. The service users even carefully considered if others staying on the ward would also enjoy the foods. It was a great exercise for everyone involved.

Huge thanks to NH Case, Simply Food Solutions and Harvest Foods for coming along and preparing all the delicious meals. Thanks also to the clinical teams for helping to organise the service users so they were able to attend the tasting.

This has been an excellent opportunity for the Central Catering Team to engage with service users and support them to make decisions and share opinions about this part of their care journey and wellbeing.

From the positive feedback received after all the taster sessions, the Central Catering Team will be introducing a selection of the popular dishes into the patient menu in the new year.