Orpington care home residents team up with school to bring back favourite recipes

A care home in Orpington has teamed up with local school 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 Foxbridge House on Sevenoaks 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 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 Orpington for many years to come, residents from Foxbridge House have rolled up their sleeves and donned their aprons, to team up with pupils from Perry Hall Primary School to show just how tasty their food favourites from the past are.  

On the day, the residents and children made chilli infused cheese scones. With their cooking complete, the residents enjoyed the dishes they had created with the children, and reminisced on their own childhood and helping their parents in the kitchen make their family meals. 

Stella Barnes, Home Manager at Foxbridge House, 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 ones. 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 devilled eggs, it’s been wonderful seeing the residents revisit some of their favourite foods from across the decades with pupils from Perry Hall Primary School. 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 

Foxbridge House is a purpose-built care home designed to deliver luxury hotel-style comfort for residents, complete with a café, hair and beauty salon, cinema and beautiful gardens. The home is divided into separate residential, nursing and dementia care suites, encouraging close-knit communities where residents can get to know each other, and where people with similar needs can be cared for together.