Hospital kitchens are getting ready for Christmas

Being in hospital at Christmas can be tough, which is why the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust kitchens are already working hard to make sure everyone has a festive dinner and as merry a Christmas as they possibly can.

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Many of us are still thinking about what we will be serving our loved ones on Christmas day, but preparations have been well underway in the Trust’s kitchens for many weeks.

Team Leader, David Nicholls, from the kitchens at Grantham and District Hospital said: “Being in hospital at any time of the year can be hard, but especially at Christmas. We hope by putting in this extra effort over the festive period it lets our patients know that we want them to have the best Christmas possible given the circumstances.”

On Christmas day the Trust is planning to serve hundreds of patients and staff a roast turkey dinner with all of the trimmings.

Around 188 turkey crowns have been ordered, along with 310kg of sprouts, 350kg of baby carrots, more than 500kg of potatoes, hundreds of pigs in blankets, thousands of stuffing balls, gallons of gravy, hundreds of Christmas puddings and of course gallons of brandy sauce.

Some of the ingredients will also be used to serve staff and patients wanting a festive roast dinner in the hospitals’ restaurants in the days leading up to Christmas.

Team Leader, Patricia Hopkins, at Lincoln County Hospital kitchens said: “This time of year is really busy for us, but we really do love it. There is a lot of love, care and attention that goes into the baking of the Christmas cakes and all of the other food being prepared for patients and staff.”

Dozens of giant Christmas cakes, enough to feed 1,650 people in total, have already been baked at Pilgrim Hospital, Boston and have been delivered to each hospital kitchen where they have been covered in marzipan and iced. The gigantic recipe contains 63kg of fruit, 30kg of marzipan and 20kg of icing sugar.

Pilgrim hospital Catering Manager, John Spencer, added: “Well done to the team at Boston for baking the cakes for all of our hospitals and decorating those for Pilgrim hospital. A big thanks to the kitchens at Lincoln and Grantham for decorating the ones for their staff and patients too. It really has been a team effort and the hard work isn’t over yet.”

Hotel Services and Catering Manager, Wayne McIntosh, added: “Well done to our kitchen staff for all of the effort that has gone in so far, and especially on Christmas morning when they sacrifice spending time with their own family to make sure everyone in the hospital is able to have a Christmas dinner.”