Research kitchen

Even senior citizens can enjoy this food again

Elfriede L. enjoys the freshly served food.

(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

Chewing and swallowing difficulties can often occur in old age. Be it due to poorly fitting prostheses, neurological diseases such as strokes, dementia, Parkinson's and tumors. The newly opened research kitchen aims to whet the appetite for tasty dishes.

In order to guarantee a high quality of life for the residents of the "Häuser zum Leben" in Vienna, the nursing and care facility operates its own research kitchen in Haus Tamariske. The aim is to adapt the consistency of popular classics of Austrian cuisine so that they are also suitable for people with swallowing disorders (dysphagia - can occur with both solid food and liquids).

David Martinez operating the state-of-the-art kitchen equipment in the research kitchen.

(Bild: Reinhard Holl)

Fresh, regional and organic
"We cook fresh food in our kitchens every day. We use high-quality food - more than 30 percent of which comes from organic farming. We source most of our organic apples and seasonal vegetables from farms in the city of Vienna," explains Karl Jelinek, head of the research kitchen department. "Meat and poultry are of the best quality and 100 percent Austrian. The short transportation time of the food means that all valuable nutrients are preserved - we save CO2 and protect the climate!"

Wiener schnitzel fresh from the 3D printer.

(Bild: Häuser zum Leben)

Meals for the very elderly from the 3D printer
The research kitchen team develops dishes that are particularly suitable for older or very elderly people due to their special properties or ingredients: for example, soft-to-the-taste bread or "regeneration porridge".

For people with chewing and swallowing difficulties, soft food is offered in an appealing form. The kitchen team has also been using a 3D food printer since 2021. The cartridges are filled fresh, directly on site. The production of the mixes for the pressure cartridges works in a similar way to the mixed food, but care is also taken to ensure that the "farces" are specially adapted to the diameter of the pressure nozzles and the pressure height of the product.

Tastes almost like normal food
In order to get as close as possible to the original taste and appearance of normal food, the dishes are cut into their individual components (e.g. breadcrumbs and meat) and then reassembled using the 3D printer. Managing Director Christian Hennefeind: "The food is selected according to the principles of 'fresh', 'regional' and 'organic'. It is also possible to cater directly to special diets and dietary requirements.

Michael Zoufal, research kitchen employee, with culinary delights from the food printer.

(Bild: Andreas HOFMARCHER/Häuser zum Leben)

New for palliative care too
It was precisely with this objective in mind that the research kitchen worked on the development of the Wiener Schnitzel from the 3D printer. "We succeeded in coming very close to the original, both visually and in terms of taste," emphasizes Jelinek. The so-called "liquid drops" are specially designed for palliative residents. They promote sensory perception in the mouth. These drops in various flavors are also very suitable for people with dementia, as they provide liquid in a different dosage form.

Developing and passing on knowledge
As a competence center for needs-based and age-appropriate nutrition, the new research kitchen now also offers training courses and workshops for employees from different areas.