Oakland Care has launched new menus in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Tim Allen to be rolled out across each of its six care homes in southern England.
Allen was previously head chef at Launceston’s Place in London which won a Michelin star under his leadership, and went onto work at the Wild Rabbit in Kingham that also earned a coveted Michelin Star.
Allen’s Flitch of Bacon restaurant in Essex also won the area’s only Michelin star in the last 25 years.
Allen worked closely with Spiros Ragavelas, Oakland Care’s executive chef, to develop a set of menus unique to the luxury care home provider.
The new dishes make use of fresh produce and fine-dining techniques normally reserved for Michelin-starred restaurants to provide dishes for the residents at Oakland Care’s care homes.
Once the menus were curated, Allen joined Spiros and Oakland Care’s chefs at a training session where they were walked through the menus and given instructions on how to prepare them.
Having never before worked with a care home, Allen was challenged with adapting his techniques and knowledge to the environment of a care home kitchen.
“Working with Oakland Care has been a new and rewarding experience for me. With no prior knowledge of what care home dining teams can deliver, I didn’t know what to expect when I started this journey with Spiros and his team,” he said.
“However, I was thrilled to see the dedication and ability displayed by Oakland Care’s chefs, who have shown that anything is possible if you have the right attitude.”
As part of the training session, Oakland Care chefs were challenged to a cook-off where they each prepared dishes from the new menu for company directors.
“The dining experience of our residents is a central part of their lives at our care homes, and we want to ensure that they’re able to enjoy fantastic food each meal from the comfort of their home,” said Oakland Care chief executive Joanne Balmer.
“We’re grateful to Tim for bringing his expertise and creativity into our care home’s and I know that our residents will be delighted by our new and improved dining offering across all of our care homes,” she added.
