We’ve been watching it for nearly 20 years, haven’t we! Like all shows that stand the test of time and enter the national psyche, Come Dine with Me has that ‘thing’: a winning formula that proves to be enduring TV gold. On an obvious level, it works so well because we all like to eat and to win and enjoy ourselves!
Dawn Lyon, Lifestyle Support Lead for Roseway House Care Home, (part of Amicura), certainly thinks so because she has decided to utilise the format not just for fun within the home, but to bring together other local care homes.
So, how did it all come about?
“Well, we were chatting about the series and I thought it would be really good to do! At first I was just thinking that a few residents could design a menu each but then I wondered how we could extend it because obviously the residents all know one another here. Roseway is very much part of the community but a lot of care homes seem very closed doors and I liked the idea of perhaps changing that.”
Dawn has been at Roseway House for seven years having previously worked abroad for travel companies for many years. Like so many people I speak with, life turned in a different direction and she fell into the care sector where her skills, talents and personality are nurtured and appreciated. Dawn cares a great deal but there’s also an expansiveness to her view of her role and as exemplified in her Come Dine with Me plan:
“Yes, I want it to be impactful…to use it as an opportunity not just for fun but to interact with other care homes – break down barriers – because there are so many things we could be sharing and learning from, and ultimately people within the community are going to benefit. Plus creating links professionally which I think is really important. It would be great to inspire each others’ menus so chefs get to know what other people are cooking and how other people run their service, entertainment, attitudes etc. I’m an eternal optimist!”
So, with a prize pot of £300 from a local grant, there are now four homes taking part and it’s due to start on the 4th of September over the course of four weeks. Each home will visit each other with a nominated resident and carer, and the chefs at each will cook the menu which has been selected by the residents as the best to put forward for the competition.
When I suggest it sounds like an organisational nightmare, Dawn laughs and sets me straight:
“I’m quite bullish, so when I get an idea I think there HAS to be a way round it! I’ve always liked to think outside the box with problems, and faced with them here because no two days are ever the same, I always think there’s a way around everything, regardless!”
Dawn exudes warmth and fun but she’s also driven to learn and expand, keeping herself up-to-date with fresh ideas in order to evolve her role. Last year she completed the Dementia Care Mapper course at Bradford University, and she also does med rounds having taken her Level One in Medication because she knows it has a direct impact on how residents are day-to-day and how they perceive doing things in terms of activities.
Dawn clearly thrives on making meaningful connections of one sort or another and what better way than literally ‘breaking bread’ with other care homes in the community.
And I couldn’t say goodbye without asking Dawn for her ideal menu. Not surprisingly, given she lived and worked there for many years, it’s Spanish:
Tomato Bread with Serrano Ham
Paella
Crema Catalana
It’s a win all round from me, Dawn!
Debra Mehta
