Cheltenham care home residents ‘rise’ to the occasion and team up with local children to bring back favourite recipes

A care home in Cheltenham has teamed up with local children and joined a nationwide campaign to save traditional recipes from being forgotten.  

A poll of 2,000 adults carried out by Care UK, which operates Sandfields on St George’s Road, found almost two-thirds (65%) of the nation no longer use family recipes that have been handed down through the generations, however, 43% of people surveyed are keen to save them. 

In a bid to prevent family recipes passed down through the generations from being lost forever, Care UK has launched a free downloadable recipe book – Recipes to remember, which features recipes shared by care home residents across the UK. From food enjoyed during World War Two to quirky desserts from the 1970s, the book includes residents’ favourite foods, alongside recipes tailored to support older people by Care UK’s award-winning chefs. 

Keen to keep their recipes bubbling away in Cheltenham for many years to come, residents from Sandfields have rolled up their sleeves and donned their aprons, and teamed up with their grandchildren to show just how tasty their food favourites from the past are.  

Residents and the children enjoyed an afternoon in the kitchen, whipping up a classic dessert from the 1980s – a baked Alaska.

Featured in Care UK’s brand-new recipe book, the family favourite is being handed down to younger generations from Sandfields resident, 91-year-old Wendy Foulkes.

Wendy said: “I am very pleased to have been included in the recipe book and I did enjoy afternoon tea with the children, as well as meeting the chef who helped to make the baked Alaska. My mother collected many recipes, including some from my grandmother, although recipes in those days were very rich with ingredients.”  

Malaika Charles, Home Manager at Sandfields, said: “Spring is in the air – and so too are the smells of some incredibly tasty home-cooked recipes adored by residents and their families for generations.  

“Just like a photograph, a family recipe can be a way to revisit the past and reminisce on a cherished memory or loved one. How something tastes or smells can be a powerful tool for triggering memories and positive feelings, especially for those living with dementia, which is why we’re delighted to be taking part in Care UK’s Recipes to remember campaign.

“From jam roly-poly to our very own baked Alaska, it’s been wonderful seeing the residents revisit some of their favourite foods from across the decades with the help of their wonderful grandchildren. Arctic rolls might be out of flavour but it’s clear from how well the resident’s recipes were enjoyed that there’s still a hunger for foods from the past today – so donut give up on them!”

To find out more about Care UK’s Recipes to remember initiative or to download your copy of the recipe book, please visit: careuk.com/recipes-to-remember

Sandfields is a state-of-the-art care home which provides full-time residential, nursing, dementia and short-term respite care. The care home incorporates space for hobby and leisure activities and includes its own cinema, hair salon and café.