Redwalls Wins Christmas Cake Competition
The staff and residents of a Cheshire care home have been inspired by their chocolate box surroundings to make an award-winning Christmas cake. The cake depicts a wintry scene at Redwalls Nursing Home, in Sandiway, with carefully crafted and painted model figures representing a festive choir of staff and residents.
Head chef Sharon Johnson, 50, who once cooked for President Barack Obama during her time running a restaurant in Washington, said: “The inspiration for the cake came when we were all chatting to one of our residents, Elaine Hall, in her room. “She does crafts as a hobby and she told us her daughter Lesley is a keen cake decorator. She said, ‘you bake it and we will decorate it’.” Ms Johnson modestly said she “did the easy bit” in baking a cake that includes both sponge and a traditional Christmas cake layer. “Other residents joined Elaine and her daughter in making the fondant icing models,” she said.
The home’s creation was the winner in a Christmas cake competition organised by Kingsley Healthcare, which runs 30 homes across the country, including five in Cheshire. Ms Johnson said: “We are looking forward to cutting the cake on Christmas Day.” Redwalls manager Sarah Lyons said: “It has been a great team effort. We love to involve residents and their families in everything we do.”
Caption: Manager Sarah Lyons, left, with head chef Sharon Johnson
