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Meet Kevin, one of the Meals4Health professional chefs.

Meet Kevin, one of the Meals4Health professional chefs.

This morning, I started at 6am. I cooked thirteen bags of potatoes, six bags of carrots along with cabbage and various other vegetables. I roasted beef, turkey, gammon, chicken and made Irish stew. This all needs to be done before 11 o’clock because the meals have to be chilled and packed for delivery.

Kevin Hession is describing a typical day as one of a core team of professional chefs who produce fresh, healthy meals for COPE Galway’s social enterprise, Meals4Health. ‘There isn’t a minute to waste!’ Kevin jokes.

The production team operates to superior standards of care, patience and dedication. The Meals4Health mantra, Eat Well, Live Well, Age Well, drives the team forward in preparing over 300 nutritious meals a day. Each meal is nutritionally balanced to suit older people and others living with chronic illness, who require specialised nutritional support.

Kevin is passionate about the standard of the meals.

It’s not just high quality, it’s very, very, very high quality! Everything’s cooked to perfection – a lot of care goes into making the meals.”

Kevin emphasises the essential social aspect of the service, noting that for many clients, the delivery of a meal might be their only human interaction that week.

As a chef, you might not always see the direct impact, but you understand the importance. From the delivery team to the volunteers, it’s a massive operation to put a dinner together. And it’s not just about the food. Sometimes, we’re the only human interaction the customers have all week. Imagine living alone and having someone knock on your door with a tasty, nutritious meal. It’s more than just food; it’s a connection, a lifeline.

The workplace is also a social environment, one where Kevin feels particularly at home.

‘The production team, combining staff and volunteers, are a great bunch of people to work with. You won’t get better. There is never a dull moment in the kitchen – we all work together and support each other. Everyone is involved. The meals we prepare are made with love.’

A Galway man from Ballybrit, Kevin cut his catering teeth during his 22-year army career, eventually holding a position of head chef, or ‘Cook Sargeant’. After travelling the world, Kevin began his chef’s journey with Community Catering in 2016. He later ran the kitchen at the COPE Galway Fairgreen Hostel for four years. After two subsequent years working at a nursing home, Kevin has recently returned to the Meals4Health kitchen, joking, “I had a funny feeling I would be back here again!”

He considers some of the key changes he noticed on his return, including enhanced, specialised equipment and a larger team:

It’s busier now, with lots happening. Back in 2016, we would have prepared one or two specialised meals. Now, we tailor a significant number of meals for customers who have specific medically related dietary requirements.”

Kevin, a proud father of 6 grown children, considers himself a very lucky man, having lived a life ‘some people only dream about’. He reflects on why he enjoys his work so much:

“The meals we prepare might be the most nutritious meal some people get, and the delivery might be the only human contact they have that week. It’s fulfilling work. It feels good to be making a difference for people in the community.”

For futher information on Meals4Health, visit our website, www.meals4health.ie

This story was first published in the COPE Galway 2023 Annual Report.

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