THE catering team at BUPA's Summerhill Nursing and Residential Home in Kendal has been awarded the BUPA Care Homes Caring Chef Award for 2002.

The team of five, led by chef manager David Bullas, received the title in recognition of catering excellence over the last 12 months and will be awarded with framed certificates and a Caring Chef uniform badge at a presentation in London this month.

The award, which is open to all 245 BUPA care homes nationwide, aims to recognise and promote catering excellence.

It is based on nine criteria including listening and responding to resident feedback, receiving faultless reports from local environment health and health authorities, BUPA quality assurance inspections and complying with food safety regulations.

There are also criteria for catering teams to think green' by introducing environmental measures such as recycling, in addition to planning a calendar of themed meals for residents and meeting specific targets laid down by operations and home managers.

BUPA Care Services National Hotel services manager Tim Brooke said: "This award is a genuine mark of catering excellence. It takes 12 months for the whole catering team to achieve and there is no room for error - every criteria must be achieved."

Sue Cummins, home manager at Summerhill, commented: "David and all the catering team have worked very hard over the last year and we are delighted that they have been recognised."

May 1, 2003 09:30