The wish list week menu has been put together based on the favourite dishes mentioned in our customer satisfaction survey.
“The aim of wish list week is to give customers a voice and to show that their feedback matters. We ask seniors about their favourite dishes annually as part of wider customer satisfaction surveys, as well as through ongoing surveys in our restaurants and via feedback received from staff. We have now selected dishes for the menu for an entire themed week based on customer requests,” says Planner Eija Grundström at Palvelukeskus Helsinki.
Shared mealtimes for older people provide an opportunity to meet others, catch up and spend time together.
“For this reason, wish list week also fits in well with the Everyday Encounters theme of Elderly Week, which is being celebrated at the same time. The theme emphasises the importance of having a voice, being able to participate and a sense of community in building a good quality of life in old age,” Grundström says.
Favourite dishes bring back familiar flavours and memories
Favourite dishes can be characterised by familiar, traditional flavours that bring back memories. The wish list menu will include dishes such as Carelian stew, salmon soup, pan-fried rainbow trout, fried double fillets of Baltic herring with mashed potato, and stuffed cabbage leaves. For dessert, residents and patients can enjoy treats such as lingonberry crumble with dried oats and barley, apple and oat bake served with vanilla sauce, and whipped bilberry pudding.
“Many wish list week dishes are long-standing favourites with our customers and can also be found on our menus at other times. When planning our menus, we take nutritional guidelines into account, but, particularly for our elderly customers, the taste of the food is important. Food you enjoy tastes better, and only food you have actually eaten supports your ability to function,” Grundström points out.
The lunch and staff restaurants at senior centres and service homes, which are open to everyone, also serve local residents, meaning that many people other than the residents of these centres and homes can enjoy the wish list dishes.
“There are usually more customers on wish list days. It is lovely to see them delighted when we have taken their wishes into account on the menu," says Restaurant Manager Tarja Lokinperä at the Myllypuro Senior Centre restaurant.
The hope is that favourite dishes, along with the memories and conversations associated with them, will create shared, joyful moments around the dinner table and enhance wellbeing at the same time.