Lawrence Lepidi spent years trying to get a job in a care home kitchen and he’s making the most of it now he’s at Manor Croft.
Lawrence has been in catering since leaving school, starting as a breakfast waiter and pot washer before making his way up to chef and gaining the formal qualifications whilst he worked.
Having worked in pubs, hotels, and restaurants, he was getting tired of the anti-social hours and with a young daughter he understandably wanted more family friendly hours.
With care home catering roles in high demand, he had to wait a while for the right opportunity to come along but when this happened at Manor Croft in 2018, he seized it with both hands and hasn’t looked back since.
Lawrence is Assistant Chef to our Head Chef Sonia and along with our two Kitchen Assistants, they are responsible for ensuring our residents get nice nutritionally balanced, fresh home-cooked meals every day.
The day starts for Lawrence at 7.30 when he starts on breakfast. Similar to what you would expect in a hotel, residents are able to choose from a range of options, from cereal and porridge through to a full English breakfast.
After breakfast, Lawrence makes a start on soup, which is made fresh every day, and this is served at lunchtime with assorted sandwiches and a hot dessert.
Then it’s onto tea, which is the main meal of the day and consists of a choice of two hot main meals, followed by a cold dessert.
And in between this, snacks are also available.
Lawrence explains: “We work on a four-week menu basis, so there’s always something different for the residents to eat.
“We need to be mindful of any allergies or particular diets, for example, some residents are only able to eat pureed food so it’s our job to make this as appetising as possible.”
Lawrence says he really enjoys his job and particularly likes the feedback they receive.
“It’s always nice when the residents or families compliment us on the food because we know we have done a good job when that happens.
“It took me longer than I originally anticipated to work in a care home kitchen, but it was worth the wait as I really enjoy it.”
Outside of work, Lawrence enjoys spending time with his daughter and walking.
