Food Services Supporting Activity and Independence Among the Elderly: Senior Chef & Cooking Academy

Experiences of food play a fundamental role in the life of people as they age, as they are a set of activities at once functional, emotive and affective. From continuing to cook independently, to hosting family and friends, to maintaining healthy cooking and eating habits, to changing eating habits after the loss of a partner – food and eating processes signal and example fundamental aspects of health and wellbeing. It is crucial to empower elderly people to stay engaged in food related activities as these are central to independent household management, personal dignity, and a rich social life. Two initial concepts developed through design research for food related services which address these issues, “Senior Chef” and “Cooking Academy”, are described herein. Video scenarios and experience prototyping were used` at interim stages of design development to communicate “Senior Chef” and “Cooking Academy” to a group of elderly respondents and engage them in co-creation and feedback sessions. The paper concludes through the presentation of the outcomes of these sessions which are to inform the next steps of the implementation of the service concepts through the project.