RBWH Food Services serves up a slice of home cooking

RBWH patient Ian with cook Scott Tyson

While ‘hospital food’ historically has a bad reputation, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital cook Scott Tyson is determined to make home-style meals that patients love.

With a background as a pastry chef, Scott saw an opportunity after the team received feedback from a patient that the previous cakes on offer were dry. He decided to begin baking homemade treats to give patients a slice of home cooking while in hospital.

Using over-ripe bananas that would usually be discarded, the Food Services team trialled a homemade banana bread for patients. With the overwhelmingly positive response, the team then decided to add another homemade cake to the rotation — a lemon syrup cake.

In October the Food Services team debuted the new cake as part of morning tea. Scott took a walk around the wards on the day to hear straight from the patients’ mouths how they rated the lemon syrup cake.

One patient who was recovering from surgery gave the cake five out of five stars, saying it was “very delicious and moist”.

“Homemade food helps give patients a connection to home while they’re in hospital,” Scott said.

“Our aim is to make patients feel comforted and well-cared for through the food we serve them during their stay in hospital.”