What is the role of the Café and Food Services within the Mater?

The kitchen cooks about three thousand meals a day, probably five hundred are for the café. We look after the other things sandwiches, we do a grab an go for the staff just pre-made salads and sandwiches, sushi and things like that, that’s our job to prepare all of that.

How did you cope with the move in 2007?

We were here originally for six years and then they began refurbishment of the Adult Hospital. For the first three months the kitchen was still behind the café here, and we were in the Whitty Room. So it was only in the next building, so that was quite easy to do, we only had to go up one set of lifts and up a corridor. But then, in February the kitchen moved over to the Mothers’ Hospitals and that was—all the food had to be transported in heated trolleys to the café. So we used to do breakfast service, lunch service and dinner service so everything had to be transported. We have a great department and, saying that, they all pull together and there was very little disruption to patient meals or to the café meals.

Tell us about receiving the 2007 Mercy Award

The Mercy Award is probably the highest accolade that you could get through the Mater Hospital. That was awarded to Food Services as a department, so it wasn’t just the café it was the kitchen as well, which is—we’re all part of Food Services. And that was, I think people were very impressed by the difficulties we went through and the fact there was no disruption to patient services or to the staff meals. It’s nice to be recognised and acknowledged because sometimes it can be a thankless job and if you can get that smile from a customer or a thank you it just makes it all worthwhile.