Aged care organisation, Whiddon Group Kelso, has been nominated as a national finalist for two categories in the 2016 Aged Care Hospitality Awards.
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Whiddon has been providing residential care homes, community care and independent living, as well as access to creative programs, landscapes garden and great food in rural and remote places in NSW for more than 60 years
Whiddon Group Kelso has been recognised as a national finalist for catering facility of the year, on top of Louise Watts making the final cut of nominations for the cook of the year.
Director of care services Nicole Mahara said achieving these nominations is fantastic, reflecting the hard work of all staff.
“I am very proud of the personalised service we provide at Kelso,” Ms Mahara said.
“Our staff are passionate about providing delicious and nutritious meals using fresh local produce.
“Over the past 12 months ... we have managed to enhance our food and dining services whilst catering for a larger number of residents.”
No doubt the nomination for best catering facility has come down to the cooking ability of Ms Watts, who has been nominated as cook of the year for her fantastic baking skills, in particular her jam drop biscuits.
Ms Watts considers cooking what residents and clients love to eat and enjoying her time with them as some her job highlights.
She has built a strong bond with staff and residents with her caring and consistent approach and says she is passionate about the work she does.
“I love my job and consider our residents and clients like family,” Ms Watts said.
“When I’m on leave, I look forward to coming back to work to see them.”
Ms Mahara was full of praise for Ms Watts’ work at Whiddon.
“Louise puts her heart into providing highly nutritious and delicious food for our residents,” Ms Mahara said.
“Her commitment to engaging with residents and their families through regularly meeting to discuss menu choices and dietary requirements is impressive.”
Whiddon facilities throughout the country have two services and three individuals nominated as finalists in the national awards.
This is Whiddon’s fourth consecutive year that it has had finalists in the awards and the winners will be announced at a gala dinner in October.