News

Mater’s Dietetic and Food Services team have again been cooking up a storm in the kitchen to create a new plant-focused menu for patients, inspired by celebrity chef Luke Mangan.
 

Plant-packed dishes like beetroot risotto with vegan parmesan, crispy tofu with stir fry asian greens and balsamic field mushroom with fresh corn salsa will be served to private patients’ bedsides in a ground-breaking move that embeds fresh, healthy nutrition into the overall care and treatment of our patients.
 

Mater Director of Dietetics and Food Services Sally McCray, who developed the menu with Mater Executive Chef Aman Marwah and celebrity chef Luke Mangan, said plant-based diets helped to boost patients' immune systems, reduce inflammation and improve gut microbiome.
 

“Eating more fruit and vegetables is one of the most important ways we can improve our health and well-being and at no other time is this more critical than when we are recovering in hospital,” Sally said.
 

“Less than five per cent of Australians currently eat the recommended serves of vegetables each day and less than fifty per cent of us meet the recommendations for fruit intake.
 

“You don’t need to be a vegan or vegetarian to benefit from a diet that’s rich in whole, natural foods and low in refined, processed ingredients.”
 

Mater broke new ground in hospital food in 2013 when it became the nation’s first hospital to introduce a room service model for patients with an a-la-carte menu. Earlier this year, it built on its food innovation record by becoming Australia’s first hospital to partner with a restaurateur and chef to offer contemporary restaurant-style dishes.
 

Luke Mangan said Mater was a leader in incorporating nutrition into the care framework for patients and its new plant-focussed menu took hospital food to a new level.
 

“Mater patients are getting restaurant-style dishes prepared by a team of extraordinary chefs and talented dietitians who are up to date with the latest research on how food helps us heal and enhances our wellbeing,” Luke said.
 

“There are vegetarian and vegan options as well as dishes with lean protein like lamb, quail, chicken and  prawns but the focus of every meal is on whole plant-based ingredients and low in refined, processed food.
 

“Many restaurants in Australia would not meet the same standard of food being offered to Mater patients.”

Patients can also order cold pressed juices, including a cucumber celery and apple combination  as well as a beetroot, apple and ginger mix.
 

“Balanced plant-based diets are associated with a healthy weight range, a healthy gut microbiome and reduced incidence of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes and heart disease ” Sally said.