We are delighted to introduce Binu Krishnan from Donwood Community Aged Care, recipient of The OSCARS Recognition of Excellence program.
OSCAR Care Group recognises Binu’s devotion and innovation as a friendly Culinary & Hospitality Operations Manager who is an inspirational source of ideas for Chefs and Aged Care Teams.
Binu grew up with a passion for catering, ignited by cooking with his Mum in the kitchen. His culinary career has taken him from India to Singapore and New Zealand. Binu and his wife Salika then moved with their son Aadidev to Australia.
Ensuring operational excellence
After almost 20 years’ experience as a Chef in restaurants, resorts and airline hospitality, Binu shares true positivity about his role at Donwood Community Aged Care. His enthusiasm to always “deliver above expectations” led him to study business management and focus on operational improvements.
By using superior ingredients, which can cost more than inferior products, and focusing on correct portion sizing & appetizing presentation, Binu reduces wastage and decreases the overall food budget. All while maintaining consumer satisfaction!
Making an Aged Care industry impact
Binu wants to encourage other Chefs to also work in Aged Care, so he shares his ideas & photos of his amazing food presentation on his LinkedIn page.
Teamwork & Innovation
“I love working with people”
Binu guides his team in ensuring that every meal is appealing to the residents’ senses, starting with their eyes. “I love working with people” says Binu proudly. He brought a culinary team together who also had hotel restaurant experience, to ensure that the Donwood residents are served high quality meals.
Donwood residents really enjoyed the salmon dish featured in these images for Christmas. Binu shares, “We plated a citrus salmon and served with citrus air created out of dry ice, for an amazing sensory effect. Our residents felt it was magical!”
Improving Texture Modified Food
According to Binu, cooking is simply all about understanding ingredients, flavours and textures… and using your imagination!
Binu realised that during the first month of eating after being placed on a Texture Modified Food diet, many residents resisted some of their meals. He knew that he needed to focus on the visual presentation and the taste of their meals, as they got used to the new textures.
For example, he added cinnamon & pear to carrot puree to heighten the taste & started using piping to make it visually appealing!
Avoiding malnutrition
Binu knows that Aged Care residents are an at-risk demographic for malnutrition, so he has created strategies to minimise this risk.
He ensures that residents feel comfortable requesting nourishing food in between their set mealtimes. He created a rotating menu that provides a choice of 5 sandwiches and 5 salads, which residents can ask for at any time of the day or in the evening.
Binu is successfully realising his dreams to “Make an impact on the Aged Care industry, and cook for the rest of my life!”
Binu’s Recipe for Success for Aged Care Culinary Teams
1 Teaspoon of Ideas
Binu Krishnan, Culinary & Hospitality Operations Manager at Donwood Community Aged Care, is an inspirational source of ideas for Chefs and Aged Care Teams. He knows that Aged Care residents are an at-risk demographic for malnutrition, so he has created strategies to minimise this risk.
One idea he had was to ensure that residents feel comfortable requesting nourishing food in between their set mealtimes. He created a rotating menu that provides a choice of 5 sandwiches and 5 salads, which residents can ask for at any time of the day or in the evening.
For extra protein, his elderly consumers can also order eggs at any time of the day, which is a very popular choice!
½ Cup of Goodwill
“Motivating the culinary staff and giving them the opportunity to grow” is one of the areas of goodwill where Binu shines!
He observed that one of his Cooks was stuck in the one position for many years, overlooked for promotions because of a lack of qualifications. Binu chose to help her, realizing that he was in the unique position to assist in changing her life by focusing on her aspirations.
Binu arranged for her, with four other members of his team, to join an Ignite Colleges scholarship program, and they all graduated. The Cook has since become a successful Chef!
Binu’s acts of goodwill towards the residents and staff at Donwood comes from his aim to “Touch their hearts and make an impact.”
1 Pinch of Positivity
After almost 20 years’ experience as a Chef in restaurants, resorts and airline hospitality, Binu shares true positivity about his role at Donwood Community Aged Care. Binu guides his team in ensuring that every meal is appealing to the residents senses, starting with their eyes.
He wants to encourage other Chefs to also work in Aged Care, so he shares his ideas & photos of his amazing food presentation on his LinkedIn page. These desserts are a sample of Binu and his team’s culinary artistry.
¾ Cup of Imagination
According to Binu, cooking is simply all about understanding ingredients, flavours and textures… and using your imagination!
Binu realised that during the first month of eating after being placed on Texture Modified Food diet, many residents resisted some of their meals. He knew that he needed to focus on the visual presentation and the taste of their meals, as they got used to the new textures.
For example, he added cinnamon & pear to carrot puree to heighten the taste and started using piping to make it visually appealing.
1 Cup of Leadership
Binu grew up with a passion for catering and his culinary career has taken him from India to Singapore, New Zealand to Australia. His enthusiasm to always “deliver above expectations” led him to study business management and focus on operational improvements.
By using superior ingredients, which can cost more than inferior products, and focusing on correct portion sizing & appetizing presentation, Binu reduces wastage and decreases the overall food budget. All while maintaining consumer satisfaction!
At Donwood, all teams communicate to ensure allergens & dietetic requirements are met.
2 Spoonfuls of Teamwork
“I love working with people” says Binu proudly. He brought a culinary team together who also had hotel restaurant experience, to ensure that the Donwood residents are served high quality meals. During his time working for Ikea’s catering department, Binu was impressed with the high principles of the organisation, where staff at all levels are treated as equals. He shows this respect to his team, and they in turn work hard together.
3 Tablespoons of Challenges
Aged Care facilities have faced unprecedented challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Binu and his Team ensured that, by communicating regularly with their wide network of contacts, they were able to ensure best practice, maintain health & safety for their staff and residents.
They prepared meals in advance and froze them with reheating instructions, in case of staff shortages. They hired an extra freezer to assist this plan. The Donwood Leadership team value their wonderful staff so much that they were even provided with takeaway meals, including this Beetroot Risotto.
And 1 Bag of HOPE!
Binu Krishnan’s hope for his future is that he can keep cooking for the rest of his life, making an impact in the Aged Care industry, inspiring other Chefs & Culinary teams.
If you would like to continue receiving Binu’s recipes for success for Aged Care Culinary Teams, please follow him on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/krishnanbinu OSCAR Care Group thanks Binu for sharing his fantastic leadership and ideas, and we congratulate him on his excellent results at Donwood Community Aged Care.