Casa Antonia Nursing and Residential Home in Balzan appointed Glenn Bartolo as the new head chef. Situated behind San Anton Garden, the privately-owned retirement home currently hosts 150 residents.

A professional chef with 21 years of gastronomic experience, Bartolo started his career working in different leading hotels in Malta, after graduating from the Institute for Tourism Studies. More recently, he obtained a Master Chef diploma from the University of Malta, following a two-year course. During his career, he won 12 gold medals in culinary food competitions.

Fresh in this new role, Bartolo has just launched the new Casa Antonia Winter 2020 menu: a veritable presentation of natural colours, designs, aromas and tastes.

Head chef Glenn Bartolo

“Apart from providing the right nutrition, each dish pleases the eyes the moment it is served at table in the large dining hall, while respecting all the current health protocols,” he said.

“I am a firm believer that culinary food can contribute towards further improving the quality of life of our residents at Casa Antonia, and especially so in these challenging times.

“Every day, this guiding principle is what drives me and my team to create, not only those special menus for every distinct occasion throughout a year, but also the carte du jour for lunches and dinners that we prepare on a daily basis, such as this new Winter 2020 menu which was launched this month.”

For many of the elderly residents, besides enjoying live music and the relaxing environment within the spacious home and its surrounding gardens, mealtimes are often the highlights of their day, more so nowadays.

Sarah Cassar, general manager at Casa Antonia, explained: “Mealtimes play an important part in sustaining an open, positive, inclusive and friendly atmosphere as this forms an integral part of our home’s ethos. Equally important is the fact that professional food nutrition plays an important part in maintaining our residents’ good health, as well as in the recovery of post-operation patients who stay with us as temporary residents.”

As it invests more in personalised care, the home wants to maintain and even raise the standards of its high catering offerings.

“Our residents can expect to have excellent, home-made and nutritious food, always freshly prepared at Casa Antonia’s kitchen by our dedicated catering team – food that they genuinely enjoy and which is beautifully served for their delight. That’s our daily goal,” Bartolo remarked.