Sale care home residents team up with local pupils to bring back favourite recipes

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

Mary Evans (front, middle) with her two daughters and Sale Grammar School pupils © Care UK

A poll of 2,000 adults carried out by Care UK, which operates Oakfield Croft, on Oakfield in Sale, 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 Sale for many years to come, residents from Oakfield Croft have rolled up their sleeves and donned their aprons, to team up with pupils from Sale Grammar School to show just how tasty their food favourites from the past are. 

Joining the activities was resident Mary Evans, aged 83, whose chocolate roulade and boozy liver pate featured in Care UK’s first-ever cookbook. On the day, Mary enjoyed offering a helping hand to the Sale students and her two daughters, who were recreating her original chocolate roulade.

Mary helped Sale Grammar pupils to recreate her chocolate roulade recipe © Care UK

The dining room was dressed in a 1980s style, including bunting, glittery tablecloths and balloon-shaped 80s iconic items, to help transport Mary back to one of her famous 80s dinner parties. The team at Oakfield Croft also created a gallery of photos from Mary’s youth – including many of her cooking creations, encouraging her to reminisce with her daughters.

Mary said: “The children from Sale Grammar were gorgeous and so clever. They helped me recreate my recipe – wasn’t it yummy and chocolatey.”

Mary’s daughter, Sarah, said: “To see mum’s reaction to the lovely pupils from Sale Grammar School was delightful. I could see she was interested in watching the making of the roulade, which was delicious. All the home’s attention to detail with the photos, 80s decorations, liaising with everyone just made it all perfect.”

Dan Cole, home manager at Oakfield Croft, 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 Sale Grammar 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 don't 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, visit careuk.com/recipes-to-remember.