A Taste of Heritage - recreating food memories for your residents

One of this year's Lantern Project initiatives, A Taste of Heritage is an ongoing project which aims to bring together a national database of generation-specific recipes for Aged Care.

Based on the simple idea of encouraging the elderly to share their favourite recipes with younger relatives, grandchildren for example, the concept is easily transferred to an Aged Care setting and re-created as a fun and delicious mid-meal event for your residents.

In doing so, the family traditions are preserved and carried across the generations creating a wonderful connection between young and old.

Ask your residents for their favourite snack food and ask them to tell you the story which goes with the memory of this food. If they have or can find the recipe, even better.

When you have three to five dishes which can be served as a mid-meal, create a morning or afternoon tea event and invite the residents to ‘introduce’ their contribution to the spread by telling the story behind the dish.

The idea can also be applied to main meals as a ‘feature meal’ each week or month with stories and even photographs displayed from that person’s life.

Residents can tell the story of the food to the group so everyone can appreciate the food and the memories behind it.

Have someone photograph the resident with the meal, write down their story and collect the recipe. Place everything into a book which can become part of your facility's library.

This can become an easy to organise, ongoing project within your facility which will continue to connect residents with the food they are eating, and each other.

The Taste of Heritage book can continue to be added to as more residents start to contribute. This is also a great way to introduce new residents to your community and make them feel at home right away.

Prompting questions for your residents:

• Where did you grow up?
• What was your favourite treat when you were a child?
• Who was the person who made this for you when you were little?
• Do you remember what it tasted like?
• Was there a special time when you were given this treat (Christmas, birthdays etc)?
• Do you know how to make it/have the recipe?
• Would you like us to make some for you for morning/afternoon tea?

If you wish to also share these experiences with the Lantern Project, you can submit the information here.