Heston Blumenthal brings better food to seniors at NHS

One celebrity chef is hopeful that for older people who are hospitalized with medical conditions, better food may mean better nutrition before they can go back home to receive skilled nursing care or other services.


Heston Blumenthal, a three-star Michelin chef, says he has been working with the National Health Service to provide meals that are more palatable to older people during hospital stays.


"Meal times should be something to be celebrated in hospital," he said at the Cheltenham Science Festival.

"They should be something to look forward to - and they're not."


For the past year, he says he's been working on the government project to remedy the fact that while "older people in hospital often have to get a lot of nutrients and energy through drinks, the flavour ... is not at all nice."


In the UK, research has suggested that there may be some reason for concern over the eating habits of older people.


At Queen's University Belfast, scientists found that fruit and vegetable intake by those in Northern Ireland did not reach daily recommended levels for older people of five servings a day, and in England the numbers were lower.


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