Taking care of romance at Britten Court

Company news

Feb 16, 2015

Members of the team at Britten Court made this Valentine’s Day extra special for six couples at the Care UK care home in Lowestoft.

Hannah Fuller, a member of the care team, and head housekeeper Sarah Emery, had the inspired idea of transforming the care home’s coffee shop into a bistro for the night so that those residents with partners could enjoy a romantic dinner together.

They asked Carl Catchpole, the head chef at the home, to design a special a la carte menu. “Carl really did us proud,” says Hannah. “The first course was a prawn cocktail, followed by a choice of smoked salmon on a bed of salad and rice, or grilled chicken on a bed of rice or sautéed potato. The couples then had a choice of chocolate and raspberry fondant or strawberry cheesecake for dessert.”

Sarah explains why the evening was so special for the couples involved. “They had told us that they’d stopped going out to celebrate Valentine’s Day some years ago when it got too difficult for them to get out and about,” she says. “That started us thinking: we were determined to put things right. If they couldn’t go to the restaurant, then we’d bring the restaurant to them.”  

Hannah and Sarah saved an extra special touch for after the meal when they wrote the names of each couple on love hearts and tied them to balloons. They then let the balloons go in the home’s garden as the couples watched.

“We thought it would be a lovely way to round off the evening,” says Hannah. “I think there were a few tears of happiness – not least from me and Sarah!”