A Day In The Life Of... Sandra Blanche

Sandra Blanche, Catering Manager at our hospice building in Chelmsford, tells us about her working day

“I manage the kitchen in the Courtyard Café, cooking food for our patients and their families, staff, volunteers and visitors. I have been working here for 33 years. When I started, it was only meant to be a three-month job, but I liked what Farleigh stood for and there was a lovely, family atmosphere so I decided to stay.

I work with another chef and two catering assistants. We are very lucky to
have some fantastic volunteers that help us. We serve a main hot meal of the day, light meals, soup, sandwiches, treats and snacks in the Café that are freshly prepared on the day.

We also cater for the patients staying in Farleigh’s Inpatient Unit (IPU). I liaise with the Healthcare Assistants (HCAs) so I know of any dietary requirements and allergies. I will adapt our cooking for their specific nutritional needs, such as using full-fat milk in rice pudding if a patient needs more calories. When people are reaching end of life, it’s so important to make things special for them so if there is something they want to eat, I will try to get it for them.

I’ve gone to a supermarket to find lactose-free custard and we’ve helped to cater for a last-minute wedding held at the hospice.

Wednesday is our busiest day. I arrive at work at 7am and check my emails and paperwork. Then we start organising the food for lunchtime and for any meetings taking place at the hospice during the day. The ‘Relax and Breathe’ patient group meets today so we’ll make extra lunches for them.

Four deliveries arrive so there is fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and dried goods plus chilled and frozen food which all need to be sorted, checked and put away. Fortunately, we have a volunteer who does this, so we are free to make any cooked breakfasts requested by the patients in the IPU. Then we start making lunch and also preparing for tomorrow’s meals.

The Courtyard Café brings people together from all areas of the hospice.
They come in on their break and lunch times or hold informal meetings there throughout the morning and afternoon. Some of them work long hours or they may be having a stressful or emotional day. It’s important that they have this relaxing place to meet up, take a break and enjoy a healthy meal.

We serve lunch in the Café from midday and send over the patients’ lunches to the IPU. The Farleigh Choir meets on Wednesday evening so we also prepare a tray of refreshments to leave out ready for them.

After the lunchtime rush is over, we wash up and clean the kitchen and Café seating area. We leave soup, sandwiches and jacket potatoes ready so the HCAs can make supper for the IPU patients to be served by their volunteers. I check my emails again before we finish at 3pm.

I am very proud of the catering team and our volunteers. We get lovely feedback from Farleigh’s patients about the food we make for them and how helpful we are to them and their relatives. It is great to be able to give them something that they enjoy.”

We are currently looking for weekend volunteers in our Court Cafe. If you are interested in giving some time to Farleigh in this rewarding role you can find more information here

This article is an extract from the latest Lantern Magazine.