Care teams, residents and relatives at three TLC Care Homes are celebrating after their respective Head Chefs were announced as finalists for the fiercely contested national Care Chef of the Year Awards.

The awards celebrate the very best culinary talent in the care catering sector, emphasising excellence and rewarding those who work tirelessly to always provide an outstanding service.

TLC Care are fielding three chefs in the award’s finals. All three chefs will now participate in a cook off alongside the seven other finalists to be named Chef of the Year.

Juliana Martins, head chef at Carlton Court and nominee, said: “The competition is fierce but it’s an honour to be nominated and it is very encouraging to have our hard work recognised by such a respected body.”

Giovanni Valentini, head of hotel services, said: “We are immensely proud of all our nominees. It is a testament to their years of experience and the effort they put in day in, day out, to create delicious and nutritious meals for our residents.

“It is so important to recognise that food in care homes should be about more than simply nutritional value, and also be an experience residents will enjoy, This is the ethos we try to instil in all our catering staff across TLC, so it is really exciting to see this has paid off, with three out of ten cook-off places going to a TLC chef.

“These chefs are really talented and have proven to be firm-favourites of residents and relatives alike. We are so pleased that their talent and commitment has been recognised by the Care Chef of the Year Awards. We wish them the very best of luck for the final, and whatever the outcome, they are already winners in our eyes.”