The acclaimed chef, author and advocate on why what we eat affects how we feel – and her mission to help the most vulnerable in society feel better.
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.Maggie Beer is speaking from her home in the Barossa, where it’s very cold but the sun is shining brightly. “We still have autumn colours so my pomegranate hedge and wisteria are that golden colour, the pear tree that’s as tall as an oak I’m looking out on is 160 years old – it’s just starting to lose some of its leaves, but there’s gold all around.
We have her to thank for offerings such as quince paste, pheasant and verjuice, all of which were particular passions inspired by her farm produce. She credits growing up with hard-working parents in western Sydney with instilling her strong work ethic, and the move to the Barossa Valley with husband Colin with forging her lifelong love of food.
The 2019 Royal Commission into Aged Care revealed some shocking stories about what happens in the places we send our older citizens. The food budget at some centres was aMasterChefHow did we get to a point where that seemed acceptable? “Ageism has got something to do with it, not revering our older people,” Beer says. “It’s so entrenched, so insidious that people don’t think they’re being ageist when they are.
Another compounding factor was the lack of expectation from those in care. “The residents are so accepting, of being grateful for everything, anything they have. That was a shock to me,” Beer says. “They are at an age where they’ve had, often, very tough lives. And they haven’t had great expectations of being looked after ... they don’t feel they are worth the trouble – and that’s just not true.”
My dad used to refer to aged care homes as God’s waiting room. Visiting such places, residents often seem to be sitting around with little or nothing to do all day. Beer says this is changing but more needs to be done. “You see the delight, the joy of the residents who take on tasks and feel meaningful, and it breaks up the day, it breaks up the boredom and the loneliness.
Beer insists it’s only achievable with the entire team on board. “We can make massive change if we empower the staff by giving them the education, the skill and the respect – and the access to the residents and the residents lives, so they see how meaningful a difference that they can make and what satisfaction that gives to a person.”
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