Vereniki day is a favourite at Kalyna Care.
The traditional eastern European dumpling, often served with cabbage, is part of the identity of many residents at the Delahey home formerly known as the Ukrainian Elderly People's Home.
But all this is under threat, as not-for-profit aged-care homes like Kalyna face the pinch of competition and reduced government funding.
Without much fuss, big listed or private for-profit companies are taking over the residential aged-care industry.
"Eighty-five per cent of aged care, disability and mental health care will be privatised over the next five years," predicts Michael Goldsworthy from not-for-profit representative group, Better Boards Australia.
Kalyna's chief executive Darren Leech fears that a privatised model will make this kind of unique "European ambience" - with higher level of care and a choice of two meals every day - impossible to sustain.
"For-profit [homes], they've got lower levels of staffing, which mean increased profits. We've got the higher level of staffing that means reduced profits," he says.
The consequence of thinner financial margins is that, unlike the big private companies, Kalyna cannot put up the nice new buildings and afford the slick marketing campaigns that attract the families of new residents.
Even the representative of the big private companies agrees. As the chief executive of the Aged Care Guild, Cameron O'Reilly represents the nine big profit players, including Bupa, Regis Aged Care, Japara Healthcare and Estia Health. He acknowledges that the government is handing the bulk of new bed licences to private operators.
The profit-driven model allows "higher degrees of investment in capital and new facilities," and is "much better suited than the not-for-profit model" to the explosive growth needed to meet future growth in the need for aged care.
Federal government policy is accelerating the privatisation trend. Two years ago, it axed the subsidy paid for dementia patients. Recently the minister announced an imminent cut of 11 per cent, or $3.1 billion, via a reduction in the daily subsidy, called the Aged Care Funding Instrument.
"It was a battle," after the dementia supplement was cut, Mr Leech said. "We maintained the same level of staffing by working hard in reducing expenses elsewhere."
He does not know how he will cope with the latest announcement.
Privatisation is also creeping into non-residential, or home-based aged care, which is 85 per cent run by not-for-profit providers.
Last year the government introduced a means test and co-payment. Next year, Commonwealth funding will go straight to patients, who will decide where to buy their service. Previously, the provider would receive the funding. Private companies have sensed a big growth opportunity, but Estelle Fyffe, of not-for-profit Annecto, is worried.
"Not-for-profits, generally, operate on very low margins, with not a very strong capital base, so their capacity to invest in marketing and new business models, is a challenge.
"It's as if the not-for-profits are thrown in at the deep end to see who will swim. I can't be too negative; there is more money and more choice. But there are definite risks."
Mr Goldsworthy, who is running a conference in Melbourne today to help non-profits sort out their governance, said the challenge was to adapt and change fast or die.
"It's a mindset change. Non-profits need to get out of a government-funded, welfare approach and get into the market-driven, commercial approach," he says.
"It's their only option."
A spokesman for aged care minister Sussan Ley said the government wants to see a sector that "supports all older Australians while ensuring expenditure is affordable and sustainable".
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