After 30 years of experience as a chef, Andy Cullum recently set up a business – The iddsi Guy Ltd – offering practical hands-on training for care home caterers on how to prepare and serve modified foods. The training follows the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative (IDDSI) guidelines on how to provide the right dietary support for residents with dysphagia, the medical term for swallowing difficulties. Andy started his career washing up at a hotel before becoming a commis chef on a day release scheme at a catering college. After joining the Royal Air Force at 18, he rose to the rank of corporal during his 12 years’ service and then made a move back into civilian life. Andy won the Training and Apprenticeship Award in last year’s Public Sector Catering Awards and was a nominee of The Catey Awards 2024.

What inspires you to work in the care sector?

I visited my grandad when he was in a care home and he was having problems eating because he didn’t have many teeth. Back then, if someone had problems eating, the whole meal was put into a jug with gravy, blended together and poured into a cup. My grandad lost a serious amount of weight, so we took in softer options for him that he could manage to eat. He improved and put weight back on. I looked at the standard of food coming out of the kitchen and thought ‘I think I can make a difference here’ and that’s how my care home career started.

What training services do you offer?

What I deliver isn’t just for catering staff, it’s also for the care team, housekeeping department and family members. They all play a part to make IDDSI work. Family members and the care team who serve the meal need to understand the way IDDSI works. Care homes can book me for a single day or several days. We then follow up several weeks later. They are encouraged to send pictures, we have seminars and zoom sessions. Training is always on site – by working alongside the team we can show them how to build IDDSI into their working day. We help the team believe in themselves and their abilities as chefs.

How did working in the Royal Air Force prepare you for care home catering?

It teaches you structure, to be punctual, make sure your chef whites are clean and that you do things properly without cutting corners. It makes you understand that when you cook it’s not for you but about the people to whom you’re serving the food. If you’re in the field and you cook a bad meal for 25 servicemen, it doesn’t go down very well!

What made you become a trainer specialising in IDDSI?

IDDSI was introduced in 2019 but back then there was no-one teaching the techniques, although I was always demonstrating them to colleagues. When I saw a job advertised at Four Seasons for an IDDSI trainer, I applied and landed the job. From there, I joined Avery Healthcare and when my probationary period finished, I decided to set up on my own. I used to be called the “The iddsi guy” when I did training as they couldn’t remember my name and it stuck – it’s a trading name with no affiliation with IDDSI.

What do you like best about training?

When I go into a kitchen I’m sometimes met with resistance. A chef will say ‘I don’t have time.’ Once you have demonstrated how to build IDDSI into the working day and how it can make their day easier, the modified food improves. What’s most rewarding is when you revisit and the chef thanks you and shakes your hand, the care team and the family members also thank you. One of the biggest successes for me is when you see the positive impact you’re making on people’s lives.

What are the challenges in care home catering?

We seem to have a low skills set in care home kitchens. Throughout the country, there is a shortage of chefs not just in care homes, hospitals, hotels and restaurants. What tends to happen is a that someone is put in a care home kitchen with no qualifications. We need to invest time and money in them to give them proper training.

Tell us about the Country Range guides you’ve worked on?

Country Range has published a new full colour guide to help care home caterers with ideas to create modified meals for residents with dysphagia that are safe and appealing to the eye, using Country Range ingredients. This gives a better understanding about IDDSI and contains tips, tricks and innovative methods. We followed this up with a guide to help caterers provide nutritious meals for residents with dementia using Country Range products – most recipes are finger food or cutlery free.

Andy’s top tips for care caterers:

  • Always make food look like food so residents can identify what they’re eating.
  • When presenting a meal, use the “Mum test” – would you serve this to your Mum? If the answer is no, redo the meal.
  • A good quality milk powder works well for fortifying food.
  • Use a dash of olive oil, vinegar and brown sugar as a grinding agent for blending lettuce.

Get the Country Range IDDSI Guide!

The Country Range Dysphagia Guide, which includes a vibrant Katsu Curry, Braised Beef and Battenburg methods to name a few, is available now.