Comfort and care all wrapped up in Christmas lunch at TUH

Christmas lunch will be no trifling affair at Townsville University Hospital this year with a new dessert option served up to patients along with a bonbon and a bunch of Christmas cheer.

Food services manager Daniel Langridge said he hoped the piece de resistance of this year’s menu, which includes roast beef, sous-vide turkey, roast chicken, baked ham, and traditional veggies, would be the dessert trifle.

“Traditionally, we made Christmas pudding from scratch but since one of our long-standing staff members retired it just hasn’t been the same.

“We’ve trialled a few options over the past couple of years, and this year we’ve landed on a Christmas trifle; it’s made in-house and tastes amazing.”

More than 50 kitchen staff will be working on the hospital’s lunch and dinner service.

“We’ll also be providing two options at both lunch and dinner, both Christmas themed,” Mr Langridge said.

“We usually deliver around 500 meals per service and, even though there’s a smaller number of people in hospital, we’re still looking at around 1,500 meals across the day.”

Mr Langdridge said for the food services team, the Christmas meal service was about more than food.

“It’s about comfort, care and creating a sense of normality on a day that’s important to so many people,” he said.

“Even though our staff are away from their own families, they take a lot of pride in knowing they’re helping make Christmas a little brighter for our patients.

“If a warm meal and friendly smile can bring even a small moment of joy to someone’s day, then it’s absolutely worth it.”

Health service chief executive Kieran Keyes said the kitchen staff recognised how important it was for patients to enjoy Christmas fare on one of the most traditional days of the year.

“The staff in our kitchen are rightly proud of their product year-round and at Christmas they go the extra mile to make sure our patients enjoy wonderful food,” he said.