A celebrity endorsement is an often seen event in marketing news, particularly for food products. Much rarer though is when a celebrity actively participates in a project – and when that project is revamping hospital food.

Heston Blumenthal, the celebrity restaurateur famed for his eccentric, ‘mad scientist’ approach to cooking previously helped roadside restaurant chain Little Chef develop their new menu. Featured in the series Big Chef takes on Little Chef, Blumenthal worked at a franchise in Popham to revamp the menu whilst keeping the production methods relatively simple and cost-effective.

Now his eccentric take on food preparation is to be put to use in the NHS; Blumenthal will collaborate with a team from Reading University which aims to tackle the problem of malnutrition on elderly care wards.

Between the researchers, Blumenthal and his chefs at the Fat Duck restaurant in Berkshire, a prototype menu has been developed to help appeal to the taste buds of elderly patients. Part of a three year project, the menu hopes to deliver nutritional value whilst accommodating the diminished taste buds of many older patients.

Lead researcher Dr Lisa Methven told the BBC that unlike hearing or sight, there was no effective treatment for a loss of taste. “Our hope is that we can develop foods that older people can get more pleasure out of and enhance their nutritional status,” said Dr Methven.

According to the BBC, the aim was to bring the strong flavours of Japanese food to traditional British dishes. An amino acid known as ‘umami’ (Japanese for ‘savoury’ and ‘delicious’) is at the heart of their efforts. The researchers have extracted compounds from several foods to create a mince base to be used in a variety of popular recipes, such as shepherds’ pie.

Blumenthal told the BBC that “Umami is a great way to rejuvenate the dining environment in hospital and improve the flavour in the mouth.”

“Mealtimes should be something to be celebrated in hospital,” said Blumenthal. “They should be something to look forward to.”

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