There are no cooks in the kitchen at the Maryann Home and Hospital currently, but rather a collection of tradies as the old kitchen is completely gutted and replaced with a modern, streamlined kitchen.
The kitchen renewal is the first major project to take place since the Marire Trust took ownership of the Taranaki Electricity Trust's 50 per cent shareholding in AgeCare Central becoming the total Shareholder of AgeCare Central last month. As AgeCare Central manages both the Marire and Maryann complexes, staff have been able to use the kitchen at Marire while the Maryann one is out of use.
The new kitchen has been financed by Marire says the chairman of the Marire Board, Michael Walsh. "The Marire Board wishes to thank families who have bequeathed monies to Marire over the years, and we welcome any such bequests in the future. Such monies are used wisely to keep the homes up to date, continuing to provide a quality environment and friendly atmosphere for our residents."
During the rebuild, which has made use of local contractors and businesses, all meals have been getting prepared at the Marire kitchen, and then transferred to Maryann by a van, "kindly supplied by Tasman Toyota free of charge," says Michael. He says the kitchen design and vision is the work of Jo Russ, the domestic services superviser at Maryann. "She had a clear idea of how best to make the new kitchen streamlined, utilising the space well and ensuring it will continue to meet our needs for a long time into the future."
"The design has been very much a team effort with input from the food services team to come up with an efficient work space by overcoming some inherent restrictions. I feel we have managed this and I am sure the staff at the coalface will be delighted to work in a spacious, bright and cool area with the introduction of an air-conditioning unit and effective lighting."