Head Chef at Waterlooville Care Home wins South East Care Chef competition
Samuel Sewell, Head Chef at Wellington Vale care home in Waterlooville has been crowned winner of the South East regional heat for the National Association of Care Catering (NACC) Care Chef of the Year competition. He is one of just 12 chefs nationwide to have been selected for the national final which will take place on 1 October.
During the regional heats, competitors were given 90 minutes to create a delicious, nutritious and cost effective two-course menu appropriate for people in a care setting. They also had to impress the judges by showing their own flair through contemporary flavours.
Sam cooked his own version of fish and chips as a main course and served up a delicious poached cod with a medley of peas and samphire and homemade chips, tartar sauce and a battered fish goujon. His dessert was a caramelised white chocolate panna cotta with bourbon cherries and almond and buckwheat granola.
Samuel Sewell, Head Chef at Wellington Vale, part of the Cinnamon Care Collection said, “It means so much to make it to the final. Being selected as a regional winner is a great achievement and I feel so proud to be representing my care home and the Cinnamon Care Collection in the national finals.”
Sandy Atkins, Senior General Manager at Wellington Vale said, “Sam is a very talented cook, and our residents love the food he serves to them. His talents have already been recognised in our company-wide awards – he was named Cinnamon Chef of the Year in 2022 and 2023. However, this takes his achievements to another level! We all wish him every success in the final.”
Wellington Vale is an exclusive care home which offers exceptional residential, dementia and respite care and has 80 large, luxurious en-suite rooms. Wellington Vale is part of the Cinnamon Care Collection which, for the last seven years, has been named a Top 20 Care Home Group by carehome.co.uk. For further information, please visit www.cinnamoncc.com/wellingtonvale