Seaham Care Home Resident, 93, Celebrates Family Recipe Featured in National Charity Cookbook
Dorothy Dinsdale, who lives at Cedar Court Residential and Nursing Home, is one of the stars of A Lifetime of Flavours: Celebrating Food, Family and the Lives Behind Beloved Recipes.
Curated by Sanctuary Care, a not-for-profit care provider with 109 homes across the UK, the cookbook features 42 treasured recipes from residents aged 70 to 105 and celebrates the joy of cooking, memory, and continuity in later life. The book supports Mental Health UK and has raised over £4,700 so far.
Dorothy loved cooking her ‘Gran’s Mince Pot’ recipe – a dish of layered mince, onion, red Leicester cheese, chopped tomatoes and thinly sliced potato, for her late husband Stanley, and fondly recalls making it for her daughter Anne and her son-in-law Gordon when they came home from hospital with their newborn baby Sophie.
After receiving a very special delivery of the cookbook in print, Dorothy beamed:
“At the age of 93, I didn’t expect anything like this to happen to me! I’m so glad this has happened it has been such a good experience.”
At the heart of A Lifetime of Flavours is Sanctuary Care’s Enriching Lives Framework – an evidence-based approach to care that focuses on maintaining identity, purpose, and joy in later life. The cookbook specifically celebrates ‘continuity’, one of the six senses within the framework, by showing how residents can carry on lifelong passions and traditions, such as cooking, even after moving into a care home. Mealtimes are a vital part of that continuity, offering structure, sensory stimulation, creativity, independence and connection. Good nutrition plays a key role too, helping residents stay active, alert and well-nourished.
“Moving into a care home isn’t about leaving your old life behind, but continuing the things that bring you joy,”said Louise Palmer, Director of Operations at Sanctuary Care.
“Whether it’s recreating a childhood recipe or baking with friends, our chefs work closely with residents to make every mealtime meaningful, and A Lifetime of Flavours is a celebration of that love of food, family, and the lives behind it.”
The cookbook is free to download or can be ordered in limited print for a donation, with all proceeds going to Mental Health UK. It also includes a foreword from 2023 Great British Bake Off winner Matty Edgell, who shares how food shaped his own family memories.
‘A Lifetime of Flavours: Celebrating Food, Family and the Lives Behind Beloved Recipes’ is available to order with a donation to Mental Health UK from https://www.sanctuary-care.co.uk/lifetime-flavours-celebrating-food-family-and-lives-behind-beloved-recipes