When Bidfood acquired The Punjab Kitchen in January 2019, it was then rebranded as Simply Food Solutions, with brands such as Simply Purée offering textured modified meals for people with dysphagia and other swallowing difficulties.
Simply Healthcare offers allergen-free, gluten-free and renal suitable meals. Simply Worldfoods offers global cuisines such as African-Caribbean and Indian, all with accreditations from organisations such as BRGS and Campden BRI.
The company offers vegetarian dishes within its Simply Purée range, as well as kosher and halal dishes that Simply Food Solutions managing director Yaqoob Ishaq says weren’t always available in the past.
He says the business was the first to offer complete and textured mouth-feel meal and one of the first to launch into the NHS. The meals are compliant with the IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative) framework, which lists eight levels (0-7) of textures and thicknesses that cater for individual needs, and they have consistent content to allow nutrition to be tracked easily.
The company concentrated on flavour, smell and texture to encourage people to eat as much as they could of its high quality natural ingredients. Clare Park, consultant speech and language therapist, clinical SLT lead at Cromwell Hospital in London and ambassador for Simply Purée, says that the goal is to get people in care to eat well seasoned and IDDSI compliant meals to get them back to health and to increase weight as well, which is very important.
Dysphagia affects between 50%-75% of nursing home residents and 10% of acutely hospitalised older people, who ultimately require a texture-modified diet according to IDDSI.
Simply Food Solutions’ Simply Purée range consists of more than 120 IDDSI compliant ready meals to satisfy needs at consistency levels 3, 4, 5 and 6 – for example, level 3’s thickness is likened to that of Heinz tomato soup. All can be heated in an oven or microwave and served speedily.
Ishaq says: “It’s our mission to keep patients and residents who are eating our food happy, by providing the highest taste satisfaction possible. This also extends to healthcare chefs and caterers, as we aim to provide them with a quick easy meal solution that’s safe to eat without the hassle of kitchen prep.
“Over the past 20 years we’ve seen a shift in people’s palates, seeking cuisines from around the world, as well as those from different cultural backgrounds longing for a taste of home. That’s why it’s so important for us to create dishes that adhere to dietary needs and requirements.”
Bidfood’s interactive care home provides inspiration for caterers to boost their care offering. Dietary support is also on hand from the in-house nutrition team and culinary development chef for care, Wayne Wright, who can advise on menus and tailor them to fit all budgets.