Oakland Care launches new Michelin-Star inspired menus

Oakland Care has launched a new set of signature-style menus in collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Tim Allen.

The new menus are being rolled out across each of their six care homes in the south of England. Tim has 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 exceptional dishes for the residents at Oakland Care’s care homes. Once the menus had been 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.

The session at Lambwood Heights care home was well received by the chefs, who were able to develop their own skills under the coaching of Tim. Having never before worked with a care home, Tim was challenged with adapting his techniques and knowledge to the environment of a care home kitchen. He was previously the 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 which also earned a coveted Michelin Star. Tim’s Flitch of Bacon restaurant in Essex also won the area’s only Michelin star in the last 25 years. Speaking of the new menus, Tim Allen said: “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. 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. “What will stay with me is the unique environment that has been created at Oakland Care. Every team member I spoke to was enthused by their roles and they have established a family environment that was a delight to be around.” Spiros Ragavelas added: “Working with Tim has been an immensely rewarding experience. His expertise has raised the bar of what is possible within care home dining and it has been a privilege to have worked so closely with a world-renowned chef. “As part of the training session, we tasked our chefs to a ‘cook-off’ where they each prepared dishes from the new menu for our Directors. They relished this opportunity and will take the learnings from this session forward as they bring these special dishes to the plates of each of their care home’s residents.” Joanne Balmer, CEO of Oakland Care, said: “At Oakland Care, we’re driven by our mission to create exceptional care homes where our residents can live, love, and be loved. 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. 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.” ENDS

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