Food & drink
Tips for older Kiwis
Star chef Peter Gordon is turning his expertise to helping older Kiwis cook nutritious meals.
He’s been teaching fortnightly cooking classes connecting with and educating different communities, including older people, youngsters from the Papatu¯ a¯ nuku Ko¯ kiri marae in Ma¯ ngere East, and Iranian refugees.
Each class has a different focus, and when it comes to those who are older, he’s encouraging them to maintain a balanced diet that includes a good amount of protein.
Continuing with routines around shopping and meal-planning can be difficult for some older people – especially if they are learning to cope on their own or without a loved one.
Gordon warns there’s rising malnourishment among some older people.
‘‘In some cases people are just having toast with jam. If you go to the supermarket and try to buy a lamb chop, you’re either getting a pack of six or 10, and there will be people who just don’t want to buy a steak because it’s just too big.
‘‘So I put together these stuffed capsicums and threw a bit of feta in, and that was just a subtle way of including some protein, and if they’re vegetarian it allowed for that too.’’
The burden of dreaming up recipes and cooking for one can be made easier, Gordon says, by changing the way you organise your time in the kitchen and using ingredients in a way that avoids too much repetition with your meals.
‘‘What I think is useful for people to know is that they could cook their steak, chop, or chicken breast, and then they could wrap it up and put it in the fridge and two days later they could slice it thinly and add it to a salad.
‘‘So they’re not having steak and potatoes one night and the second. There’s a bit of variety, and they get the protein for your bones and muscles. It’s just finding a different way to do it.’’
Gordon is focusing on sharing his cooking knowledge after returning to New Zealand in the wake of Covid-19; he and his partner Alastair Carruthers lived in London for 31 years.
The pair used their time in lockdown to implement a broad business plan to support and showcase struggling local produce suppliers through a 100-seat restaurant, retail space, and ultra-modern cooking school.
Gordon says he’s grateful to be able to unite people through the Homeland food innovation hub in Auckland.
‘‘I knew someone who died of Covid in March in New York, and I’ve known a couple of people that have been really, really sick from it,’’ he says. ‘‘The world of course is so different for everyone, and we’re fortunate that we’ve been able to fund Homeland ourselves.
‘‘It’s a really enjoyable business, and we just love it to bits.’’