In a break with tradition, the Southern District Health Board is not serving turkey on Christmas Day this year. Health reporter Eileen Goodwin catches up with Dunedin Hospital head chef Kostya Cherkun as he prepares for the big day.
Q How do you decide on the menu?
A A meeting is held with the kitchen team and food services managers to discuss Christmas ideas and recipes. Once menu ideas have been identified, these are checked with the dietitian and speech language therapist to ensure they meet all patients' needs. We also need to ensure that the menu can be provided within our resources. To make Christmas special, we also want to give something extra for each patient, such as a greeting card, a cracker, homemade baking, a chocolate wrapped in a bag and a menu that gives a nod to something traditional for the season.
Q Is this the first year the board hasn't served turkey on Christmas Day?
A Correct. This year we decided not to put turkey on the menu [because] the turkey roll that we have previously used is no longer being produced. We did trial other turkey rolls and turkey breast samples and the quality was fine, but not suitable for a bulk production, as unfortunately in this situation the meat will dry out very quickly.
Q How many meals do you expect to produce on Christmas Day?
A We expect this year we will produce 220 meals for Dunedin and Wakari hospitals combined, 100 meals on wheels, and 180 meals for Southland (patients, meals on wheels and staff). Multiply these numbers by three, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and you get about 1300 Christmas Day meals for our SDHB patients. Plus there are cafeteria meals for the staff and visitors to be prepared and served.
Q Do you enjoy working at this time of year?
A I enjoy working at any time of the year, and it is great that we celebrate Christmas in summertime because of the beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables available. I love my job and respect and admire the team I work with. We enjoy nice food, and we produce healthy, tasty meals for our organisation and clients. It is even sweeter when you get good feedback, year after year, for the Christmas meals in particular.
Q What's the biggest challenge in producing Christmas dinner?
A The challenge is in working out the roster so that there is adequate staff on, and staff [getting] quality time with their families as well. Most suppliers have deadlines for the Christmas shutdown period, so an order/delivery plan is worked out with each supplier.
Q How many kilos of potatoes, chicken thigh and peas will you prepare?
A We will prepare 83kg of fresh potatoes cooked in two ways for lunch; 20% mashed, 80% roasted; and healthy oven-baked chips for dinner. We will cook 280 chicken pieces ... [and] approximately 35kg of frozen peas.
Christmas dinner
• Chicken thigh wrapped in bacon with stuffing, carrots, roast potatoes, peas and gravy. Braised chicken thigh served with mashed potato, carrots, broccoli and gravy.
• Vegetable moussaka served with tomato and basil sauce, broccoli and carrots.
• Christmas pudding and vanilla sauce.
• Fresh fruit salad.
Source: Southern District Health Board
