Care home hosts mammoth tea party

Earlier this week, the Head Chef at Care South’s Sussexdown care home in Storrington served his version of tea at The Ritz to around 120 residents and guests, as the home joined health and social care providers across the globe for the National Association of Care Catering’s Biggest Tea Party event.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Mar 2014, 06:00 BST
JPCT 190314 Sussexdown Care Home in Storrington puts on Ritz event to join in the National Association of Care Caterings Biggest Tea Party. General manager Heather Rogers with guests from the Royal British Legion. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-140319-175017001JPCT 190314 Sussexdown Care Home in Storrington puts on Ritz event to join in the National Association of Care Caterings Biggest Tea Party. General manager Heather Rogers with guests from the Royal British Legion. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-140319-175017001
JPCT 190314 Sussexdown Care Home in Storrington puts on Ritz event to join in the National Association of Care Caterings Biggest Tea Party. General manager Heather Rogers with guests from the Royal British Legion. Photo by Derek Martin SUS-140319-175017001

The mammoth tea-themed celebration was part of Nutrition and Hydration Week 2014 (17 – 23 March), a global movement aiming to raise awareness of good nutrition and hydration in health and social care. Participating organisations were invited to hold the biggest tea party they could on 19 March, to help raise awareness for this excellent cause.

Working a whole extra shift to prepare for the party, Sussexdown’s Head Chef, Dickie Dore, baked well over 300 cakes to keep his guests happy, along with scones, finger sandwiches, doughnuts and chocolate éclairs. Cakes on offer included Dickie’s chocolate and beetroot cake and carrot and cinnamon cake – both very popular among his residents. The home’s Activities Coordinator and Social Support Workers served the tea, dressed up as Ritz-style waiters and waitresses – complete with bow ties and frilly caps!

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Sussexdown invited a number of local community groups to join residents for the tea party, including representatives from the Friends of Sussexdown charity, the Royal Air Forces Association, the Rotary Club of Storrington, the Royal British Legion Storrington branch, the Sandgate Singers group and the Help the Aged charity. The home’s dining room was decorated with union flags for the day and residents and visitors were entertained by local pianist, Andy Payne, as they tucked into Dickie’s mammoth spread.

General Manager of Care South’s Sussexdown care home, Heather Rogers, said: “We had a fantastic time joining health and social care providers around the world in taking part in the Biggest Tea Party event. Dickie and Barry put a lot of thought into the menu and organisation of the event and worked extremely hard to prepare the delicious spread for our residents and their families.

At Care South, we take nutrition and hydration best practice very seriously and are always eager to take part in awareness-raising activities such as these. We also work hard to ensure our residents get involved with the local community and events like this are a great way to do that.”

Report contributed by McKenna Townsend. Pictures by Derek Martin.