Chris Donner is a finalist in this year’s Lincolnshire Care Association (LinCA) care awards in the Care Home Chef category. The winners will be announced at the gala award evening on 30 March 2023 at The Double Tree by Hilton, Lincoln. Chef Chris has clocked up 25 years’ service at OSJCT, having originally joined Boultham Park House, and then worked at Hartsholme House for the last 13 years.

Chris said: “I am delighted to reach these award finals. I thoroughly enjoy my job, getting to know our residents, tailoring menus for them, and learning from my colleagues. I am especially enthusiastic about cooking dishes from scratch.”

Hartsholme House Home Manager Cheryl Gilderdale said: “Chris fully deserves to be recognised for his outstanding service to residents and their families at Hartsholme House. He consistently delivers high quality food to their delight.

“Chris involves residents’ ideas and choices and is always keen to try different suggestions. Snacks and little extras are always on the menu. Many family members joke and ask if we have a spare room for them as the food is delicious!”

Cooking came naturally to Chris in his college days, as he first developed his skills through a vocational course, before working in a café and then in the kitchen of a family-run bowling centre. He enjoyed meeting customers and got to know some from the older generation who came in each Wednesday. When the role at OSJCT Boultham Park House came up, Chris followed a recommendation from a colleague to apply. It became the start of a long career in care home catering.

Chris enjoys the pace and complex planning involved in cooking but is also skilled at understanding and building rapport with residents in the care home. He said: “We treat everyone individually here, and while verbal communication can be difficult for some with advanced dementia, a pat on the shoulder or holding hands can be what they need, to know they are not alone.

“I’ve always sought out feedback on my food, and regularly speak to our diners. I know that something has gone down well when residents have seconds and sometimes thirds of the food.”

After 25 years working in the care sector Chris has seen a number of changes, one being the increasing age of residents, he said: “We have many residents in their nineties and our oldest resident is 105. When I first worked in care I would speak to most residents in the dining room, but some older people living with dementia can struggle with regular conversations. Over the years, techniques have changed, and we are always learning new ways to help those living with dementia to feel calmer and communicate through touch and eye contact.”

“Working at the care home has been very rewarding, and I get on well with the residents. One lady has been at the home for 20 years. She’s always taken an interest in my family and my son.”

Donated family recipes from residents often appear on Chris’s menus, such as the Lady St Oswald Tea Bread and the Welsh Pineapple Fruit Cake which he describes as, “the most delicious in the world”.