Sustainability in Social Care: Evolve Care Group's Catering Training

Promoting Sustainability in the Care Sector: Evolve Care Group's Bristol Catering Training Day

Recently, Evolve Care Group hosted their second catering training day, emphasising their dedication to continuous improvement and striving for excellence in mealtime experiences across their care homes in the Southwest. Building on the momentum of their first session in June, 25 catering team members gathered once again at Nisbets, the National Catering Equipment Centre in Bristol, reflecting the crucial role ongoing training plays in achieving their commitment to being better every day.

This training day focused on sustainability in catering, encouraging teams to explore innovative methods for reducing waste, creatively repurposing surplus ingredients, and adapting simple recipes into popular favourites. Sustainability is essential in catering as it not only reduces environmental impact but also promotes efficient use of resources, ensuring future generations can enjoy the benefits of a healthy planet. The catering teams were taught how to prepare three basic soup recipes, with Chef Joe Oliver from Creed Foodservice demonstrating how to elevate each one with just a few additional ingredients. In addition to soups, the teams experimented with making bread in various shapes and flavours, showcasing how small, mindful changes can lead to significant positive outcomes in both flavour and sustainability.

The session also addressed the needs of residents, fondly referred to as family members, who require a pureed diet. Teams were shown how to present pureed food in a more visually appealing way, ensuring it closely resembles formed food; for instance, moulding pureed carrots into the shape of a carrot. Joe Oliver highlighted the importance of the mealtime experience by saying, "The meals prepared by these kitchen teams could be among the most meaningful moments for family members, which is why every meal should feel special."

Others noted how they were motivated by seeing their progress from the last session and felt proud of turning a simple dish like soup into something that could bring much pleasure.

The next catering training day will be held on the 28th of November and will have a Christmas theme. The catering teams will also be asked to demonstrate their soup-making adjustments, allowing them to transfer the skills they've gained since the last session.

EVOLVE CARE GROUP MEDIA RELEASE

For more information about catering roles within Evolve Care Group, please visit www.evolvecaregroup.com/contact-us.

Nisbets National Catering Equipment Centre Visit Nisbets 

Creed Foodservice Creed Foodservice

Apples, Broccoli, and the Impact of Touch in Care

Evolve Care Group has been delivering its own bespoke training programme for over 800 team members through their Evolve Care Academy since 2015. The academy recently continued its year-long training series, "The Alice Years," with its third course, focusing on "Touch" and manual handling. Drawing inspiration from Alice in Wonderland, this engaging and immersive programme aims to deepen understanding and practical skills while ensuring that the training feels meaningful and impactful. The previous course in the series, titled “Control,” has now been CPD accredited, further highlighting the group’s commitment to quality and continuous development. Evolve’s approach is centred on enhancing care through thoughtful and accessible training, built with the unique needs of its residents, who are referred to as family members, in mind.

The course which was repeated over 4-days to ensure all team members could attend started with Clinical Director, Eve Carder, highlighting the significance of touch in care settings, particularly for family members living with a Dementia. She posed thought-provoking questions: Is touch merely a task? Is it something we “do” to someone? Team members were reminded that every interaction could feel like the first time for individuals living with a Dementia, and it’s essential to approach them as though they've just stepped into their own "Wonderland", and to join them in their world.

The session delved deeply into the principles of manual handling, by highlighting the importance of maintaining a person’s mobility. Far from being a mechanical task, proper movement helps people keep their "world and wonderland as big as possible for as long as possible." Team members were asked to reflect on the profound impact that declining mobility has on an individual’s world, likening it to a bridge gradually shrinking, which in turn, affects mood and well-being.

The Science of Touch

The training also touched on the scientific research around the critical role of human touch. Beginning from infancy when skin-to-skin contact helps regulate a newborn’s vital functions and emotional state, the natural interaction lowers blood pressure and cortisol levels while triggering the release of oxytocin, nurturing emotional bonds (Ferber, Feldman, & Makhoul, 2008). In care environments, the right touch can provide similar benefits, helping family members feel grounded and connected.

Bruising, Broccoli and Apples

The delicate nature of supporting individuals living in a care home was crucial to the training day, particularly regarding bruising. MAYBO certified trainers for Evolve Care Group, Mark Reed (COO) and Jay Carder (Social Care Trainer), emphasised the importance of using flat hands rather than fingers when moving family members, comparing it to the difference between gently holding an apple versus bruising it by squeezing too hard. Never one to shy away from making training unique, 800 apples were purchased as a concept idea to emulate a person's body.

Broccoli was also used to represent capillaries under the skin during the training. This visual made it easier to explain how capillaries can be compressed and damaged, causing them to break and blood to pool, which then leads to a bruise. Mark and Jay both demonstrated this by gently running their hands over the top of the broccoli, making some of the florets break off and fall onto the table, showing exactly how a bruise forms.

Effective Touch

The team practiced touch and safe manual handling using beds, armchairs, and low-friction sliding sheets, focusing on techniques to prevent bruising while ensuring safety. The day ended with shared experiences and discussions, leaving team members with a stronger sense of responsibility and confidence in using touch effectively.

Mark Reed closed the day by asking, “When designing our training, we always ask ourselves how would we want our own parents to be treated if they were in this situation? This simple yet powerful question serves as the ultimate standard, guiding us to create training that emphasises dignity, compassion, and the highest quality of care.” With this approach, we are hoping to improve emotional well-being, physical health, and mobility, as well as developing awareness around how bruising can occur through touch and how taking time is not a cost but an essential investment in care.

 AN EVOLVE CARE GROUP MEDIA RELEASE

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 For information about Evolve Care Group’s career opportunities, please visit www.evolvecaregroup.com/contact-us.