Parkhaven Trust Chef, Paul Dunne has won the prestigious Chef of the Year Award in the 2022 Care Home and Hospital Catering Awards.
Judges had a difficult time whittling down the entries for this year’s awards, with nominations praising talented chefs and committed colleagues coming in from across the country.
Paul was announced winner at the awards event in London on Monday 13 June 2022.
Paul Dunne said; “I’m absolutely delighted to have won the award! The team and I work hard to provide a range of nutritious meals for our service users. We regularly use special days such as birthdays and anniversaries as well as themed days such as Pancake Day, fish and chip supper days and Halloween as an excuse to cook special themed meals and make mealtime extra special.
We love having these themed ‘party’ mealtimes and creating a family atmosphere, this all adds to our service user’s quality of life. We create a ‘buzz’ around mealtimes which helps encourage those with low appetites who need to eat more, to engage, join in and better enjoy their food. I find my work hugely rewarding.
Being honoured with this award is a great achievement which I’m taking on behalf of our amazing team at Parkhaven Trust.”
Kim Crowe Chief Executive at Parkhaven Trust said; “I’m thrilled that Paul has been recognised at a national level for his amazing work. Paul and the rest of the catering team work very hard to provide the very best wholesome, healthy foods for our service users. This award reinforces what we already know here at Parkhaven – that the dedication of our staff is really what set us apart from the rest!”
Parkhaven Trust’s catering team not only plan, prepare and cook the meals for the residents and day centre clients, they also personally assist service users at meal times. Many service users have dementia and require extra support at meal times to ensure their safety and well-being and to ensure that they eat a nutritious meal in an enjoyable environment.
Parkhaven Trust work closely with local suppliers, they cook all meals from scratch on site, using only the freshest seasonal produce.
More about the awards here.
