Evolve Care Group leading social care provider, with care homes located across the Southwest recently invested in a training day for 25 of their catering teams at Nisbets largest UK showroom, known as the National Catering Equipment Centre in Bristol.
The training day was led by Creed Foodservice’s Development and care sector Chef, Joe Oliver where they showcased a fantastic range of equipment and provided tailored advice, aimed at boosting culinary skills and kitchen management. The day’s activities included practical cooking sessions, evaluations, and a cook-off!
Tracy Grant, Evolve’s Operations Lead, emphasised the importance of bringing catering teams together for peer-to-peer support. Often catering teams work in isolation, so the goal of the day was to encourage collaboration and peer learning. Tracy organised the teams by pairing mixed experienced levels, encouraging learning through guided leadership rather than managing and instructing.
Hands-On Cooking Sessions
Creed Foodservice provided breakfast to start the day, which was especially welcomed by team members who travelled from Devon. Splitting in to groups of around four per table, the team instinctively began gathering ingredients for the hands-on cooking sessions. These sessions were designed to learn and observe practical culinary skills, teamwork, and efficient kitchen practices.
Diverse Menus and Recipes
The menu for the day had such a wide variety of dishes, including cottage pie, roast chicken with vegetables, veggie chilli & rice, lemon tart, strawberry trifle, cream tea, chocolate brownies and finally iced lemon cupcakes. Each dish was assigned to different teams, a real Master Chef experience!
Cook-Off and Evaluation
The cook-off was a highlight of the day, where everyone challenged themselves to prepare dishes with colleagues from different homes, strengthening camaraderie and shared learning. This activity tested their adaptability and creativity under pressure. After the cook-off the judges Tracy, Juliet Gardner, and Joe Oliver, evaluated the dishes providing constructive feedback to help the team improve their skills.
Heanton Nursing Home Wins the Day
Tracy and Juliet led a presentation and feedback session to conclude the day, awarding Heanton Nursing Home the ‘Home of the Day’ prize donated by Creed Foodservice. This was an ‘Armchair Day Out’ where a Creed representative will visit the home with themed food to transport Heanton family members on a day out from the comfort of the home.
Tracy commented “it’s great being able to mix up the home’s team members and to see how the leaders, in particular, have different leadership styles. Nisbets has been an excellent facility.” She went on to say “we are excited to re-visit for our next catering day in September”.
For more information about catering roles within Sundial Care Home, contact us.
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