Because excellence is also on the menu

The British Hospital Gastronomic Services´ Department takes part in the institutional development process aimed to excellence, with quality as the basic premise and the satisfaction of different type of members as a daily challenge. The British Hospital Head’s Office set the rule "to always have the excellence as a north “to always work looking for quality and the best results", incorporating innovations to the menu and presentation as well as supporting the work of the area with permanent training, mentioned the Chef Adrian Parrilla, Chief of the Gastronomic Services Department. The 40 people who work in his department receive professional training according to an annually established schedule, which involves different areas of expertise and institutions specialized in gastronomy. Daily, from the British Hospital Gastronomic services department almost 1.000 menus of 3 courses (starter, main course and dessert) are prepared for the hospitalized patients, members and employees. With an occupancy rate of about 150 beds, patients receive lunch and dinner, as well as afternoon snacks and breakfast. In addition to this, 450 daily meals which are served at the employee’s dining room and the breakfast that the patient´s companions receive. Daily, another 100 dishes are served in the coffee room. Of all patients hospitalized 25% eat a la carte and 75% eat according to the nutritionists’ recommendation and/or medical prescription. Thus, the British Hospital Gastronomic services sufficiently serve food that medical professionals or nutritionists prescribe for patients with specific pathologies, such as celiac and hypertensive patients, and those with gastric problems, diabetics, etc. The department also provides "gastronomic support" to the different activities organized by other areas of the hospital, which include healthy food promotion activities or a specific one for a pathology, such as Heart Week or the World Diabetes Day, and the frequent gastronomic workshops for Hospital members. The professionals of the Gastronomic Services Department work together with nutritionists and doctors, in order to harmoniously combine the art of gastronomy with scientific knowledge. Therefore, for instance, nutritionists of the Hospital's Nutrition and Diet Therapy department train the cooks about different preparations that can be made with food, ingredients and textures according to the usual pathologies in a medical centre. In 2013 the British Hospital was the first Uruguayan medical assistance institution to receive from the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay the quality certification BPM - Good Practices in Food Handling -, result of a process of changes that involved all the Gastronomic Services staff and housekeeping dietary aide area of the institution, and it is periodically recertified.