Sanctuary Care’s Chef Conference 2024
Chefs from across our care homes, and invited chefs from Sanctuary Supported Living, gathered for our Annual Chef Conference, with inspirational guest speakers, live cooking demonstrations and celebrations.
One of the many highlights was an inspiring insight into the incredible journey of the winner of MasterChef: The Professionals Champion 2016 – Gary Maclean (pictured below), who said:
“This has been an absolutely fantastic day. It’s not often I get a chance to stand in front of chefs and talk about careers and food and the warmth here has been quite incredible. There’s a real camaraderie here.”
The event featured some delicious demonstrations with special guests – Louise Wagstaffe from Delicious By Design and Exose Grant from MasterChef: The Professionals 2019, wowed everyone with their pastry creations.
Next up, Danny Silcock from Brakes UK, who judged our internal MasterChef competition, presented ‘Make it Snacky’, whipping up a trio of prawns in lemon mayonnaise on a brioche bun, satay chicken with a Vietnamese twist, and a unique tofu and chocolate pudding, delicious!
And finally, Julie Sharp from the Chocolate Academy UK & Ireland, gave a sweet lesson in truffle making, inspiring our chefs to produce their own unique creations. They sampled all the dishes and are excited about bringing these ideas back into their own kitchens, so watch this space!
The event culminated in a glittering awards ceremony, where the winners of our fourth MasterChef contest were announced. Congratulations to Joe Fower, from Ivydene Residential and Nursing Home in Ivybridge, Plymouth, who won the first prize of £1,000. Joe’s menu highlighted his flair for vegan, plant-based dishes, which are not only delicious, but rich in protein too.
Joe’s winning menu, which he wowed the judges with following a 90-minute cook off in the final, comprised plant-based scallops, wrapped in plant-based bacon served on a smoky puy lentil ragu, paired with grilled asparagus and a creamy garlic reduction. This mouth-water main was followed by a luxurious white chocolate and raspberry Crème Brûlée, accompanied by raspberry coulis and shortbread fingers.
Following his win Joe said:
“Every day, the residents at Ivydene motivate me to cook the best food I can. The best part of my day is seeing the dining room full of their happy, smiling faces."
In second place was Rowena Graham from our Camilla House Care home in Edinburgh, followed closely by Lisa Warrington, from Westmead Residential Care Home in Droitwich.
Congratulations to our exceptionally talented trio, and all of our Best Performing Chefs from across the regions – here’s to next year!
For more about our commitment to the development of our incredible colleagues, head over to our recruitment pages.
