IHHC hosts National Excellence Awards and Culinary Competition at 2024 Conference
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Across a packed three day program, IHHC members and supporters, other delegates, guest speakers and presenters gathered together at Crown Perth for the 41st annual IHHC National Conference, held during the first week of November.
The theme of this year’s Conference was ‘Compassionate hospitality – creating a culture of care through innovation’ and it was exemplified throughout the many presentations, workshops and information sharing from our expert speakers and across the events and site visits held over the three days.
The conference began at 1pm on Monday 4 November with a welcome from well-known Brisbane television presenter and journalist Victoria Carthew, returning as MC for the third consecutive year. This was followed by the traditional Welcome to Country Ceremony, then the official opening address by Chris How of St Jude’s Health Care Services.
“A pioneer of the spray-on skin technique to treat burns victims, Professor Wood gave an inspiring and educative address to a rapt audience”
Our first keynote speaker was Professor Fiona Wood, Director of the Burns Service of Western Australia (BSWA) and a consultant plastic surgeon at Fiona Stanley Hospital and Perth Children’s Hospital. She is also co-founder of the WA’s first skin cell laboratory, Winthrop Professor in the School of Surgery at the University of Western Australia and co-founder of the Fiona Wood Foundation. A pioneer of the spray-on skin technique to treat burns victims, Professor Wood gave an inspiring and educative address to a rapt audience, getting the conference off to a fantastic start.
Following a series of expert presentations, it was time for the highlight of day one – the 2024 IHHC Culinary Competition, which saw MC Alistair McLeod once putting our high-profile finalists through their paces! The four teams each had 30 minutes’ preparation time prior to the cook-off to undertake mise en place, then 45 minutes to prepare five portions of a recipe using the nominated market basket ingredients and other local produce.
“The IHHC National Conference this year raised more than $3000 for Ruah Community Services”
This year’s winning team was Antonio Ferraioli and Paolo Bravi of Catholic Homes Castledare Village for their dish of Maryland Delight Stuffed Chicken. Runners-up were Brendan Host and Rajesh Pundir from STARS Brisbane for their dish of Asian Style Chicken with Wasabi Mash, Oyster Mushroom, Pickled Heirloom Beetroot and Edamame.
Day two saw more presentations and workshops, along with our second keynote address, ‘Cultivating a culture of change through psychological safety’, presented by Rob Horstman of EQ Minds, a seasoned leader with a wealth of experience in corporate, local government and community sectors. Rob covered mindful leadership, mental wellbeing and the importance of building resilience.
Day three began with our third keynote address, this time by Michael Wear, CEO of Tidal Moon which is a collaboration with three Aboriginal communities engaged in training and supporting the next generation of local indigenous people while maintaining cultural heritage and environmental stewardship. Michael explained how Tidal Moon’s efforts in farming sea cucumbers exemplified a culturally directed approach to sustainability.
The final evening saw us reconvene for the Conference Gala Dinner with its James Bond/Casino Royale theme which saw many delegates coming stylishly ‘dressed to kill’!
Each year the IHHC National Conference proudly supports a charity and this time we successfully raised more than $3000 for Ruah Community Services which delivers practical, creative solutions for people experiencing homelessness, family and domestic violence and the challenges of living with chronic mental illness. Ruah executive manager strategy and development Mark Slattery gave a sobering presentation on these serious concerns and the great work that Ruah is doing, partnering with government and health/welfare agencies to help develop new evidence-based models of care and to drive social change for the better.
A highlight of the dinner was the presentation of the IHHC National Awards for Excellence, as follows:
VALUES IN ACTION CUSTOMER SERVICE AWARD / ROSEMARY ANNE PIRIE OAM AWARD
Linda James, Catering Services Manager, Alwyndor Aged Care SABRIGHTEST STAR AWARD
Remar Cipriano, Head Chef, RSL Care SALEADERSHIP AWARD
Harry Shen, Senior Head Chef, St Vincent’s Care VICPROJECT OF THE YEAR AWARD
‘The Dining Experience’, Catholic Homes WASUSTAINABILITY AWARD
Food Waste Management System, Queensland Children’s Hospital (QCH) Food Service DepartmentADVOCACY AWARD
Nutrition Professionals Australia
Congratulations all to winners, finalists and nominees, and our thanks to all those who attended the Conference. We look forward to welcoming you all to Melbourne later this year for our 42nd Conference!
