Bury St Edmunds care home residents team up with local youngsters to bring back favourite recipes

Three care homes in Bury St Edmunds have teamed up with local children to join a nationwide campaign to save traditional recipes from being forgotten.  

A poll of 2,000 adults carried out by Care UK, which operates Mildenhall Lodge, on St John’s Close, Davers Court, on Shakers Lane, and Glastonbury Court, on Glastonbury 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 the 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 Bury St Edmunds for many years to come, residents from Mildenhall Lodge have rolled up their sleeves and donned their aprons, to team up with nursery pupils from Great Heath Primary School to show just how tasty their food favourites from the past are.  

On the day, the youngsters joined residents Jessie Slater, aged 87, Marianne Clarke, aged 79, and Sylvia Lovell, aged 85, to make chocolate spring nests – made from melted chocolate, shredded wheat, and mini eggs. After the baking session, the children tucked into the delicious nests, enjoying them before the chocolate even had a chance to set. The remaining creations were taken home by the youngsters to share with their families.  

Reminiscing on her childhood, Jessie said: “I remember cooking with my mother growing up and picking the apples from the farmers crops to make dishes for my brothers and dad for tea.”

While at Glastonbury Court and Davers Court, the residents’ grandchildren and great-grandchildren spent an afternoon baking “melting moments”, chocolate chip oat cookies, from resident Phyllis Hubbard’s own cookbook. As part of the initiative the Head Chef at Glastonbury Court also designed a special menu using the residents’ original recipes. The soup of the day was Phyllis Copping’s pea and ham soup and her homity pie was the delicious main course. For dessert the chef baked a chocolate crunch cake, inspired by Phyllis Hubbard.

Phyllis Hubbard, aged 84, from Care UK’s Glastonbury Court, said: “It is very important to keep history alive as there are so many fast-food places around now and children need proper food.” 

When asked how she felt seeing the children laughing and taking part in the cooking activity, Phyllis Copping, aged 80, said: “It was all lovely!”

Ana Mihai, Home Manager at Glastonbury Court, 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.”

Sophie Evans, Home Manager at Davers Court, added: “From jam roly-poly to homity pie, it’s been wonderful seeing the residents revisit some of their favourite foods from across the decades with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 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!”

Hannah Nurse, Home Manager at Mildenhall Lodge, concluded: “It was fantastic to welcome pupils from Great Heath Primary School to Mildenhall Lodge for an afternoon spent cooking. Everyone had a great time talking about their favourite foods – and seeing the pupils get into a pickle with weird and wonderful names of foods from the 70s was certainly the cherry on the cake!” 

To find out more about Care UK’s Recipes to remember initiative or to download your copy of the recipe book, please visit: www.careuk.com/recipes-to-remember

Mildenhall Lodge, Glastonbury Court and Davers Court are modern care homes providing full-time residential, nursing and dementia care, as well as short-term respite care, with Davers Court having also recently opened its new day centre. Designed to enable residents to live enjoyable and fulfilling lives, the homes have their very own cinema and hair salon, and there is plenty of space both in and outdoors for relaxation and recreation.