ROSEMARY ANNE PIRIE, OAM (1934-2008) spent her professional life dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in patient care, staff training and professional development, quality assurance and encouraging everyone to go the extra mile to make a difference.

The longtime Chief Dietitian/Caterer at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital, Rosemary Pirie trained as a dietitian and later undertook a Catering Supervisor’s Certificate at East Sydney Technical College, which at the time was the only catering course available in Sydney.

“She was probably the first dietitian ever to do it, because she felt she needed to know more about catering than dietetics,” recalled the late Ted Thornburrow, who worked with Rosemary in various capacities for about 20 years, in an interview in 2019. “She was really more of a catering manager than a dietitian – her love of the industry was for the catering department. She was instrumental in organising training for catering officers and apprentice cooks at Royal North Shore in the 1960s, and she remained at the hospital for virtually her entire career.”

As time moved on, Rosemary became more and more influential in the development of hospital catering and was also well respected outside the hospital system. “She was the first one who really showed an interest in bridging the gap between food and nutrition,” said Nanette Taylor, who was trained by Rosemary. “She very much embraced training for people who would otherwise not have had an opportunity – she was very open to apprenticeships for cooks and would nurture young people who came in. But although she was a nurturer, she was also very strict – you always called her Miss Pirie!”

Rosemary encouraged her staff to participate in chef’s competitions, and they often won – which was virtually unheard of for healthcare staff back in those days. She actively participated in the catering traineeship program - a little like a scholarship program - which allowed people to train on the job while also attending TAFE. “At the end of your first year you would be placed in a hospital and she would take a number of these placements and show them all the skills from the ground up,” Nanette remembered. “If you were trained by her, you’d do well wherever you went.”

Rosemary was also something of a saviour in ensuring the maintenance of both government and independent funding at RNS. She always embraced further education and the open exchange of information, and was very proud of her involvement with both the Dietetics Association of Australia and the IHHC. “If you had Miss Pirie on your committee, you knew it was going to be solid and reputable,” Nanette affirmed.

Staff and trainees would regularly seek solace from Rosemary, who was always a source of good advice and support – “she was like our conscience really,” Nanette said. “In her own way she was quite maternal toward the catering staff. She would always go and see any of her staff while they were in a hospital and sat with people as they passed away.”

Even in her holidays, Rosemary was dedicated to service – she organised summer camps for diabetic children over the Christmas/New Year holidays, as far afield as Campbelltown and Goulburn. “It didn’t take her long to rope me in and I helped her with these for 17 years,” Ted Thornburrow remembered. “Initially Rosemary was the camp director and I was the catering officer and later we reversed roles when she got busy with other things. We would usually hold these in a private boarding school during vacation when the schoolkids were on holidays and we would move in and use the premises.”

Rosemary’s long career was marked by her passion and dedication. “She always had time for you – she would chat about different things, she would encourage you and help you get things up and running. She used to say, ‘I like people who are solid with a backbone’,” Nanette recalled. “She hated pretension and her only real expense was books – she loved her books.”

 Rosemary Anne Pirie OAM exemplified a commitment to service, to making a difference in the everyday life of a patient, staff member, client or customer – and to showing that foodservice can help build bridges. She was all about care and taking that extra step to make sure things are right and that they’re being done for the right reason.

Admired by the whole industry, it’s only fitting that the highest honour the IHHC can bestow bears her name.