A typical daily menu for patients at East Cheshire Hospice is:
Breakfast – Cereals, toast, eggs, mushrooms, fresh fruit, yoghurt, omelette, or a full English.
Lunch – Soup of the day, or pate with toast; followed by Chinese pork stir fry with egg fried rice, or cheddar and red onion tart.
Tea – Homemade beef burger on a brioche bun with caramelised onions, followed by chocolate pudding and custard, or jelly and ice cream.
All dietary requirements are catered for and the choice does not end there.
An ‘always available’ menu offers toasties, jacket potatoes, sandwiches, home baked cakes and desserts, hot and cold drinks, milk shakes and smoothies.
The menu changes daily on a three-week cycle. It is seasonal, so alters after three months.
Chef manager Mike Hyland and his caterers ask patients and families for special requests.
Chef manager Mike Hyland (centre) with catering colleagues Brian Woodward and Jade Slater.
Portion sizes are also important to suit individual diet plans. The emphasis is always on sustainability. Even vegetable oil is recycled, often to make biodiesel.
General services manager Michelle Walker-Brown said: “There is very little wastage. We offer a daily specials snack menu to our staff using some of the main ingredients from our homemade daily dishes.”
Free range eggs are used and fish is marine certified. Organic products are used where possible and Bollington butcher JJJ Heathcote provide fresh meat farmed safely.
The Hospice buys Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance products such as bananas, tea, coffee, herbs and spices.