At NoosaCare we believe that nourishing our bodies with delicious and nutritious food is fundamental to enjoying life at any age.

Is there any greater pleasure than a mouth-watering meal made with love? Sharing a meal has been part of our story since the beginning of time.

From childhood, food has been associated with celebration, comfort and love. Whether it’s blowing out candles on our first birthday cake or a romance blossoming over a shared restaurant meal, we use it to count our blessings and connect with others. It’s also there when we seek comfort or familiarity. Food is good for the soul.

While our palate changes over time, our love of a good meal and the joy that comes with it doesn’t. Ageing may bring certain challenges, but the ability to enjoy delectable meals that are good for us mentally, emotionally and physically should be a right for anyone at any age.

Our Dedication To Delivering Nutritious, Fresh & Tasty Meals Every Day…

In 2014 Maggie Beer gave an address on the need to raise the profile and flavour of food in Aged Care. She called on this sector to inject soul into menu design, to put pleasure back into food service and to give older people joy through their palate. She encouraged Aged Care chefs to not only cook a functional and nutritious meal but to serve up a sense of happiness on a plate.

Inspired by Maggie Beer’s Lantern Project NoosaCare provides nutritious, fresh and tasty meals for our residents, striving to serve happiness on a plate every single day.

Our Seasonal Menus

Because we use locally sourced fresh and seasonal ingredients as much as possible our menus change regularly.

We have a different daily menu from Monday to Sunday including our Chef’s choice of daily home baked items. We focus on simple, delicious and nutritious meals made with quality ingredients.

We have edible gardens at both facilities providing horticulture therapy for our avid gardeners and creating fresh, homegrown, organic herbs adding extra flavour and love to all meals.

Lunch meals include a choice of two hot dishes, a salad of the day or freshly made sandwiches/wraps for lunch. These are also available at dinner for those residents who prefer a lighter meal. Meals are planned in conjunction with the dietician for those residents who are on special diets.

Smooth Food

As we age many people require food of a modified texture for various reasons.

Diagnosed conditions such as Dysphagia present difficulty swallowing and sometimes include problems with sucking, drinking, chewing or food and drink ‘going down the wrong way’. Texture modified foods are precribed as a solution to effectively manage the challenges that people with Dysphagia face at meal times. In the past, texture modified foods frequently resembled pureed baby food. Hardly a dignified meal for an adult to enjoy.

We saw a need for vast improvement in this area to ensure all residents continue to enjoy a variety of foods, giving them the ability to retain their dignity and enjoy a normal dining experience. First up a name change, we began referring to texture modified foods as “Smooth Food”.

Our Catering Team were set up on a Smooth Food Mission, determined to find a better way to provide quality meals for all. They developed meal options without compromising the visual appeal or flavour and started to bring the joy of eating back again.

Using inspiration from chefs like Heston Blumenthal, each component of the dish is modified separately in order to differentiate between flavours, whilst still being served and presented as usual. This technique makes it less obvious that the meal has been modified as it looks more appetising for residents to enjoy. NoosaCare currently provides smooth food menus to over 25% of our residents.

Inspired by the possibilities to achieve better results, the bigger the challenge the more creative things get in our kitchen!

Our vibrant Catering Committee ensures continued representation from residents, carers, kitchen staff and management. This is where our four seasonal menus are planned, recipes discussed and new dishes tasted. We receive many compliments from residents, staff and families. When food is cooked with passion, it shows in the laughter at mealtimes and the empty plates are a testament that our food is received with love!

The NoosaCare Way

What Makes Noosacare So Unique?

One of reasons is a little something that we like to call the NoosaCare Way.” This is a simple model that is all about taking the institution out of care, handing back choice to residents, empowering them to take back control over their lives and make choices that suit their lifestyle.