The nutrition of older people is essential for their well-being. Here they are aware of this, which is why, in their residences, they have their own kitchen and chefs who are specialists in preparing diets that adapt to the nutritional needs of the residents, but also to their tastes and preferences, because one of the objectives is that eating continues to be a pleasure for the senses. In fact, these specialists consider that following dietary recommendations must be associated with the preparation of dishes that can be enjoyed both for their flavor and for their aroma, texture and presentation.
These professional teams know that the dishes they prepare can evoke memories of the past and can serve as reminiscence therapy for residents with some type of dementia or cognitive impairment. In fact, the II study: The memories of the elderly, which we carried out on the occasion of World Alzheimer’s Day, revealed that the flavors of childhood are part of the most pleasant memories of the elderly.
There is a close relationship between nutrition and memory in the elderly population (traditional flavors, flavors from childhood, traditional flavors), especially in people with some type of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s.
To help improve the quality of life of the residents with some type of dementia, the chefs of the residential group have participated in the course Traditional Northern Cuisine and Reminiscence in Residences for the Elderly, in which they have been able to learn to design healthy dietary guidelines with flavor, color and aroma characteristics to prevent or mitigate geriatric symptoms.
With this course the chefs acquire new skills and value the therapeutic role of food and cooking in the care of the elderly, which is undoubtedly valued very positively by both the residents themselves and their families.
In this course and after a quick presentation of the culinary characteristics of the northern region and its raw materials, dishes from various provinces of Aragon, Galicia, La Rioja, Castilla y León and Cantabria were prepared, such as Galician broth, Galician beef empanada, Castilian ratatouille, Castilian-style meatballs, cod with garlic arriero, lamb or chicken with chilindrón, tuna with Riojan tomato or lamb stew, among others.
