Care home chef duo ‘excited’ to be up for national catering award

Two talented chefs at a south coast care home provider have made it to the national finals of a prestigious catering awards competition.

Culinary colleagues Lorna Parsons and Jack Wood, who both work for Colten Care, have progressed from the regional cook-off stage to vie for the UK-wide title of Care Chef of the Year 2025.

Organised by the National Association of Care Catering (NACC), the finals take place in Nottingham in October.

The pair were in a field of ten chefs from the care sector in the south east heat, securing both of the region’s two finalists’ places.

In the heat, they had to prepare three portions of a main course and pudding in 90 minutes from scratch and will now be among 12 competitors at the finals, when they will be invited to revisit the same dishes.

Lorna’s entry is completely plant-based. Her main dish is Cajun tofu with pickled red cabbage, avocado and coriander dressing, with celeriac and roast pepper terrine. Pudding is a passion fruit and basil Italian meringue tart.

Jack’s main dish is chicken supreme stuffed with ‘Colten sausage’ served with foyot sauce and fondant potatoes. His pudding is a sherry and strawberry meringue roulade.

Both have spoken of their joy and excitement at being up for the national title.

Lorna, who has just been promoted to Development Chef at Colten Care, said: “I had the best day at the regional heat but didn’t think I would get through to the final. It was pretty hardcore and you had to sit down with the judges and nutritionists to discuss every aspect of your entry. I want to thank Colten Care and in particular our directors Rick Otten and John Colwell, the Chief Operating Officer Elaine Farrer, and our line manager Richard Pearshouse for pushing the pair of us to go for this. I’ve also had a lot of advice about nutrition from my sister Annabell Bryer, who is a fellow Colten Care chef and has just completed a nutrition degree at Bournemouth University.”

Lorna has worked for Colten Care since her teens, joining in 1998 as a part-time dishwasher and waitress.

In 2002 she became the company’s first apprentice chef, training at The Bournemouth & Poole College.

After qualifying, she became second chef at Belmore Lodge in Lymington and went on to lead the kitchen team at Amberwood House in Ferndown and later Bourne View in Poole.

In 2022, she achieved national recognition by being crowned Chef of the Year at the National Care Awards, a separate set of awards to the NACC’s competition. 

In her new role as Development Chef, Lorna has senior responsibilities across Colten Care’s 21 homes including input to chef training, budgeting, stock management, compliance on food safety standards and tailoring menus in line with residents’ needs and preferences and for special events.

Jack joined Colten Care in 2022 with a background in fine dining having worked in restaurants with AA Rosettes and Michelin recommendations. He also did his initial catering training at The Bournemouth & Poole College.

After a spell at Brook View care home in West Moors, he is now Chef at Colten Care’s Newstone House in Sturminster Newton.

Jack said: “Colten Care has never competed at the NACC awards before. I’ve found it great fun and appreciate the opportunity to show what we can do as a sector. It was nice meeting and networking with chefs from different care companies in the south east heat and seeing their different approaches. Both Lorna and I were well received and we’re both very excited to be going forward to the finals.”

Richard, Colten Care’s Head of Hospitality, an award-winning chef himself and line manager for both Lorna and Jack, said: “Having two of our chefs in the national final is a huge feather in the cap for Colten Care. It’s a massive achievement. Both Lorna and Jack are absolute true professionals who go above and beyond for residents. They always have residents at the forefront of what they do. We are so proud of them.”

Established more than 30 years ago, NACC works to raise the standards of catering across the UK’s care sector.

A central aim is to champion the positive impact nutrition, hydration and mealtimes have on the physical and emotional health and wellbeing of elderly people in care settings.

Richard added: “We share the same ethos as NACC in recognising that care home catering demands specialist skills and knowledge. As residents grow older, their dietary and dining needs change and become more complex. Chefs must address issues such as food intolerances, reduced appetites, dysphagia and dementia while continuing to enable positive and enjoyable mealtimes.”

The NACC finals take place at the organisation’s National Training & Development Forum, being held at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, on Thursday 2 October 2025.