Healthcare & Nursing Homes

Shop by industry · Healthcare & aged care

Healthcare kitchens, from the kitchen to the bedside.

Hospitals and aged care homes don't run like restaurants. Meals travel from one kitchen to many wings, every resident's diet is different, and food safety is audited. Since 1947 we've designed, equipped and supported kitchens that are built for exactly that.

  • 79+ years supplying hospitals, aged care and retirement living
  • One partner for design, equipment, install, training and supplies
Talk to our healthcare teamShop the healthcare range

Since 1947

79+ years equipping Australian kitchens

Design to delivery

Layouts, supply, install and support

Working test kitchen

See it cook before you buy, in Hamilton

Training included

Handover training for your team

Healthcare productsMeal deliveryCrockery, cutlery & glasswareBenchtop equipmentHot holdingTraining & demosLarge equipmentBulk cookingFood service designBlast chillingStainless steelFAQsEnquire
01 · Healthcare specific products

The bedside range.

Products made for plated meal service on wards and in residents' rooms, where a meal might travel a long way and be eaten slowly. Aladdin and KenHands are two of the most trusted names in Australian healthcare tray service, and we carry both.

  • Heated and insulated bases. Aladdin's Heat on Demand activator heats a base in seconds. KH insulated bases and covers hold heat without power.
  • Plate covers and domes sized to healthcare plates.
  • Insulated mugs, bowls and jugs, including graduated jugs so staff can track fluid intake.
  • Sipper and spouted lids for residents who need help drinking safely.
Shop AladdinShop KenHands Moderne
Popular with healthcare

Bedside favourites

All healthcare products →
02 · Meal delivery systems

Hot to the bedside. Every meal, every wing.

In most healthcare sites the kitchen is one room and the dining is not. Meals travel down corridors, into lifts and across wings, and every minute in transit is a minute where temperature can be lost.

The Food Standards Code says hot food stays at 60°C or hotter, cold food at 5°C or colder, including on the trip from your kitchen to the ward.

The delivery system you choose is how you prove you can do that, every service.

SDX Thermobox

Bulk food transport and holding in gastronorm pans. Heated, chilled or neutral, with stainless interiors, rounded corners and wide-opening doors. From 6 tray units to 14 tray convection-heated models, plus double-stacked hot and cold units.

Configured to your site and handed over with training on loading, pre-heating, cleaning and daily checks.

Tray delivery: Burlodge

Where meals are plated in the kitchen and delivered on individual trays, tray delivery trolleys heat and cool food on board on a timed cycle, with temperature records for your HACCP plan. Ask us which setup suits your bed numbers and service style.

Insulated carriers

The simple, no-power option for smaller wings, satellite serveries, outings and events. Read our guide: How to choose insulated pan carriers.

If you need to…Choose
Move several full-size GN pans at once, hot or coldA front-loading carrier on internal rails, ideally on a dolly
Carry one or two smaller GN fractions to a wing or roomA lighter top-loading carrier
Hold hot food longer without powerPre-heat the carrier and fill it full. A full carrier holds temperature far better than a half-empty one
Keep hot and cold apart on the same runSeparate carriers, or a double-stacked SDX with a hot and a cold compartment
Popular with healthcare

Meal delivery favourites

All insulated carriers →
03 · Crockery, cutlery & glassware

Tableware that helps residents eat well.

In aged care, tableware isn't just presentation. The right plate, cup and cutlery can be the difference between a resident eating independently or needing help, and between finishing a meal or leaving half of it.

  • Australian Fine China, Flinders Healthcare. Chip-resistant vitrified china in white or colour-coded bands, so staff can tell diets apart at a glance.
  • Duraware. A tough, practical range for high-volume dining rooms where breakage adds up.
  • RAK colour and contrast rims. Bold rims and high-contrast pieces that help residents see the food on the plate.

Why colour and contrast matter

People living with dementia can find it hard to see white food on a white plate. Research and Australian aged care guidance support high-contrast tableware, like a coloured plate without a busy pattern, to help residents recognise their food and eat more of it.

Cutlery your sites already use

Hard-wearing stainless cutlery in the patterns aged care and hospitals know, sold by the dozen, so you can top up without mismatching.

Cobra501MelbourneSydney

Easy-grip and adaptive cutlery

For arthritis, weak grip or tremors, larger built-up handles are easier to hold and reduce strain on finger joints. Choose adaptive pieces with your occupational therapist and we'll supply what they specify.

CrockeryCutleryGlasswareCups & mugsPackaging & disposables
Popular with healthcare

Crockery, cutlery & glassware

All healthcare crockery →
04 · Benchtop equipment

Built for big batches, every day.

Benchtop gear in a healthcare kitchen works harder than almost anywhere else. We only recommend commercial-grade brands built for that workload.

  • Robot Coupe Blixer. Made to help healthcare kitchens prepare texture-modified meals. It takes a complete meal to a smooth purée or minced and moist texture, so residents on modified diets eat the same meal as everyone else. From small batch units up to bowls for 200 to 300 covers.
  • Robot Coupe power mixers. The MP Ultra range blends soups, sauces and purées straight in the pot.
  • Roband grill stations and food warmers, built for constant use.
  • Chafers and hot water urns for dining rooms, functions and the daily tea round.
Cutter mixers & BlixersBuffet & chafersHot water urnsAll benchtop equipment
Popular with healthcare

Benchtop favourites

All benchtop equipment →
05 · Hot holding

Cook once. Serve when it suits.

One of the biggest changes in healthcare foodservice right now. Modern holding cabinets let you cook in one shift and serve later, at serving temperature, without chilling and reheating in between.

Staffing

Cook when your team is rostered on, not at the exact minute each wing needs its meal.

Quality

Food goes straight from the oven into holding, instead of being chilled, stored and regenerated.

Late meals

Residents back from appointments, late admissions and night staff still get a proper hot meal.

Less waste

Cook to demand, hold what you need, and stop throwing out over-production.

UNOX EVEREO

Unox describes EVEREO as the first hot food preservation system, a "hot fridge" that keeps cooked food at serving temperature, above 63°C. Paired with sealed MULTI.Day trays and the MULTI.Day EVEREO Hot Vacuum, which vacuum-seals hot food straight after cooking, Unox states food can be preserved for up to 72 hours.

Turbofan holding cabinets

From undercounter 8 tray units to 10 tray full-size cabinets with touch screens and individual shelf timers. The Extended Hot Holding cabinet adds humidity control so food doesn't dry out over longer holds.

Book a hot holding demo
Popular with healthcare

Hot holding

All food holding →
06 · Training & demonstrations

New equipment only works if your team knows it.

Healthcare kitchens run rotating rosters and agency staff, so training can't be a one-off.

Before you buy

See it working

Visit our showroom and working test kitchen at 714 Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton.

Live demos

Cook your menu

Demonstrations with our brand partners on combis, holding, blast chillers and texture-modification equipment.

On install

Handover training

We show your team how to use it, clean it and do the daily checks.

After

Ongoing support

Refreshers for new staff, help programming recipes, and a team you can call.

Demo days and staff sessions

Keep an eye on our Events Calendar for upcoming demo days, or ask us to arrange a session for your team, in our showroom or on site.

Arrange a sessionEvents Calendar
07 · Large equipment

The big items, chosen to run for years.

Large equipment runs for 10 years or more and is hard to replace mid-service. The wrong choice costs you in energy, water and labour every single day.

Refrigeration

SKOPE

Efficiency is key in a kitchen that runs 24/7. SKOPE uses natural R290 refrigerant and many models carry high energy star ratings. SKOPE-connect shows live cabinet temperatures in an app, with your own limits and alerts, and exports temperature records for your HACCP plan.

Warewashing

Meiko & Washtech

Meiko rack conveyor and flight type dishwashers for hospital volumes, automatic tray washers that wash, dry and stack meal trays, and pot washers for trays and transport containers. Washtech pass-through and conveyor machines with heat recovery to cut power and water use.

Infection control

Meiko bedpan washer-disinfectors

For wards and utility rooms: clean and thermally disinfect bedpans, urine bottles and other care items, with programmes that can be stepped up during an outbreak and documentation for every cycle.

Ice

Scotsman

Nugget ice is soft, chewable and melts quickly, which is why it's widely used for patients and residents. Antimicrobial protection on key internal parts helps inhibit microbial growth between cleans.

Cooking

Combis, ovens & cooking lines

Combi ovens from UNOX, Convotherm and RATIONAL, Turbofan convection ovens, and heavy-duty lines from Waldorf and Blue Seal. One combi steams, roasts, bakes and regenerates plated meals, with recipes saved so every shift gets the same result.

Servery

Bain maries & gantries

Hot and cold bain maries, drop-in wells and heated gantries for the servery or dining room, sized to your menu and service line.

RefrigerationWarewashingIce machinesBain maries
In the kitchen. Meiko warewashing built for hospital and aged care volumes.
On the ward. Meiko bedpan washer-disinfectors for utility rooms and infection control.
Popular with healthcare

Large equipment favourites

All commercial kitchen equipment →
08 · Bulk cooking

Hundreds of meals. Less heavy lifting.

When you're cooking for hundreds of residents across several services, equipment has to do more in less space, and do it safely.

  • Convotherm Flexx Pro. Two 49 litre pans let you braise, boil, sear and simmer two dishes at once from a 12 inch touchscreen, with programmable recipes.
  • RATIONAL iVario Pro. Boils, pan-fries, deep-fries and can pressure cook, with automatic basket lifting and water filling that take the heavy lifting and scald risk out of bulk cooking.
  • Waldorf and Blue Seal tilting bratt pans. 80 and 120 litre, gas or electric, with power-tilt options so staff aren't tipping heavy loads by hand.

Pair bulk cooking with blast chilling or hot holding and move to a production schedule that suits your roster.

Popular with healthcare

Bulk cooking

All cooking equipment →
09 · Food service design

Designed from the bedside back.

Our Food Service Design team plans hospital, aged care and retirement living kitchens, from single-site refurbishments to multi-site programmes across several facilities for the same operator. The first question we ask isn't what equipment you want. It's how the food actually gets to where it's eaten.

Food Service DesignSee our projects
First question

The journey to each wing

Wings, floors and serveries, the route from kitchen to each, lift and door sizes, and how long the trip takes. That decides plated hot, bulk, or cook-chill.

Often forgotten

Trolley parking and turning

Parking bays with power, loading space clear of the cook line, and routes your trolleys can actually turn through.

Modified diets

Texture-modified production

Space and equipment for purée and minced and moist meals without slowing the main line.

Hygiene

Clean and dirty flow

Returns, dishwashing and waste kept apart from production.

The small things

The wall-mounted urn

Power, water and a drip point in the right place, because it's always there and always left off the plan.

Documentation

Plans that match the kitchen

Layouts, equipment schedules and services set-outs for your builder and consultants. Then we supply, install and support it.

10 · Blast chilling

Cook-chill, done safely.

Irinox and Friginox blast chillers, from reach-in units to full roll-in models.

Many hospitals and aged care homes plan production days ahead. A blast chiller takes hot food through the danger zone far faster than a coolroom, protecting food safety, texture and colour.

  • Irinox MultiFresh Next. Chills to a 3°C core and freezes to -18°C, with HACCP reports by USB. The Pro version adds warm holding and a "ready to serve" function.
  • Irinox roll-in XL and XXL. Take a full roll-in trolley straight from the combi, up to 100kg per cycle, for central production kitchens.
  • Irinox EasyFresh Next. Reach-in blast chillers for smaller kitchens and satellite sites.
  • Friginox. Compact blast chillers and shock freezers, like the 4 tray, 20kg MX20ATS7, a practical fit for smaller kitchens, satellite sites and serveries.
All blast chillers
Popular with healthcare

Irinox & Friginox blast chillers

All blast chillers →
11 · Stainless steel

Made to measure, made to fit.

Healthcare kitchens rarely fit off-the-shelf sizes. Odd corners, existing services and tight trolley routes all call for stainless steel made to your specification.

Custom benchesSinks & hand basinsTapware & pre-rinseCanopies & exhaustShelving & trolleys

Because we design the kitchen too, every bench, sink and canopy is drawn to fit around your equipment, trolley routes and services the first time.

Get a custom quoteShop stainless steel & shelving
Healthcare kitchen FAQs

Questions we get asked.

Straight answers for hospital, aged care and nursing home kitchens across Australia.

What equipment does an aged care or hospital kitchen need?

It depends on how many residents or patients you feed and how meals reach them, but most healthcare kitchens need combi ovens and bulk cooking equipment such as tilting bratt pans or multi pans, a blast chiller for cook-chill, hot holding cabinets, texture-modification equipment such as a Robot Coupe Blixer, commercial dishwashing, refrigeration with temperature records, and a meal delivery system to get food to each wing. Our Food Service Design team can help you work out exactly what your site needs.

How do you keep meals at a safe temperature from the kitchen to the ward?

Under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (Standard 3.2.2), potentially hazardous food must be kept at 5°C or colder, or 60°C or hotter, including while it is moved within your building. Heated and chilled meal delivery trolleys such as SDX Thermobox units, tray delivery systems, heated plate bases and insulated carriers are the common ways to do this.

What is a Blixer and why do aged care kitchens use it?

A Robot Coupe Blixer is a combined blender and cutter mixer made to help healthcare kitchens prepare texture-modified meals. It takes a complete cooked meal to a smooth purée or a minced and moist texture, so residents on modified diets can eat the same meal as everyone else.

What crockery is best for residents living with dementia?

High-contrast tableware, such as a plate with a coloured rim or a coloured plate without a busy pattern, can help residents see and recognise their food. Australian aged care guidance supports using contrasting colours at mealtimes. We stock healthcare ranges including Australian Fine China Flinders, Aladdin and KenHands.

What is the difference between cook-chill and hot holding?

Cook-chill means cooking food, chilling it quickly in a blast chiller, storing it and regenerating it before service. Hot holding keeps cooked food at serving temperature until it is needed, so you can cook in one shift and serve later without chilling and reheating. Many healthcare kitchens use both.

Do you supply healthcare kitchens outside Queensland?

Yes. We are based at 714 Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton in Brisbane, and we ship Australia-wide. Talk to us about delivery and installation for your location.

Can we see equipment working before we buy?

Yes. Our Hamilton showroom has a working test kitchen, and we run demonstrations with our brand partners on combi ovens, hot holding, blast chillers and texture-modification equipment. Contact us to book a time.

Can you design a new aged care or hospital kitchen?

Yes. Our Food Service Design team plans hospital, aged care and retirement living kitchens, starting with how meals get from the kitchen to each wing. We provide layouts, equipment schedules and services set-outs for your builder and consultants, then supply, install and support the equipment.

Talk to our healthcare team

Since 1947. Ready when you are.

Whether you're replacing one dishwasher or planning new kitchens across several sites, tell us what you're working on and we'll come back with options that fit your residents, your staff and your budget.

Call 1300 721 694 or send us an enquiry below.

Name(Required)
View Cart Checkout Continue Shopping