Our Five top tips on how to ensure catering remains the heart and soul of your care

As residents and extra care housing operators prepare for celebrating Christmas, catering is so vital for a scheme as it brings residents together, provides nutritious meals and is the hub of the scheme.

Over the last eight years we have seen an increasing number of schemes close their cafes because they have become too costly and challenging to manage.

When catering becomes a cost centre the warmth, vitality and care is stripped away from the benefits of a great hospitality experience.

We recently witnessed a new scheme opening in Devon where Shirley, one of the residents moved the project team to tears. She described how grateful she was to find a home where she could enjoy the benefits of being looked after in a beautiful space and share her life with people just like her. She was delighted to receive a delicious home cooked meal every lunch cooked and served by people that care.    

We know that in every aspect of care we must prioritise what is important and ensure that the business is financially sustainable BUT at what cost to the health and wellbeing of those that we are looking after. 

 So here is our top five tips to making catering a solution not a problem

1. Social inclusion is the number one reason to have a café in an extra care scheme. Encouraging the residents to visit the café at least once a week for a meal reinforces the benefits to them of visiting and increases the likelihood for them to return. Including meals in the tenancy agreement with the resident stresses the importance of nutritious food and social inclusion. The caterer can offer discounted meal prices if they can be certain that residents visit regularly as predictability of demand allows operational efficiencies through minimising food waste and stemming higher labour costs. Therefore, it is vital to a successful catering operation to have residents fully committed to the catering offer as part of their overall care package and creating a space for friends and family.  
    
2. Incorporating simple checks and processes to manage your food and labour costs. This has never been more important with current inflation rates and wage demands. Updating your costing model with current supplier prices is necessary to ensure that your menu hasn’t become too expensive to offer the residents. A simple costing model will allow you to determine whether your business is sustainable. A sustainable business means that you can pay all your suppliers and staff and allow some income to cover the maintenance of equipment and any extras that are needed to allow the business to continue. Keeping on top of costs and knowing where you are before the cash runs out is the difference between a sustainable business and one that is in danger of closing. With rising labour costs and the shortage of suitable workers, labour planning needs to be carefully reviewed to look at reducing non-productive opening hours to make the business work and/or explore sales opportunities to grow the sales with events or Deliveroo type meals. 
    
3. Ensure that the space that is dedicated to catering is light, homely and allows people to sit around a table and be social whilst they eat. Would you like to eat in the space with your family or friends?  Is it a space that is better than the room or the apartment that the residents live in? What can be done to warm up the atmosphere – do you need plants, soft furnishings such as curtains or cushion and is the lighting too bright, do you need screening? We all know our favourite restaurant or café to visit where the environment is just right – dressing your café space to make it the best it can be with a small budget can make all the difference to inspiring not only the resident but their families to want to share a coffee, cake or meal with their loved ones.
    
4. The mindset is key – the person responsible for overseeing the café needs to want to do the job and they must see the benefits of the work that they are doing for the residents. In essence they thrive on delivering a delicious meal routinely knowing that for the residents a meal, cake or coffee is the one of the few remaining dynamics that brings joy to their lives. By having a clear set of values and purpose for the cafe will attract the right people and those that share the values of the business. In a post-pandemic world, we are all so much more interested in being part of something rather than just having a job. 
    
5. Having a 100% focus on your customer not only makes your life easier it also makes the café a happy thriving business. For a customer, eating and drinking out is considerably more expensive than a home cooked meal or drink, as such you as the caterer have to show them the real added value in the experience. Focus the business on the added value elements that create a spark with the customer and make them want to return. Friendly expert service, delicious food and a warm atmosphere will create a positive experience and create memories. Instilling the sense of pride amongst the residents is key café becoming OUR café.

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If you found this of interest, you can find a selection of other resources on catering on the Housing LIN’s Extra Care Asset Management webpages here.