When Shirlene Bird received the call that she was a finalist as Chef Manager of the Year at the SoupedUp Hospitality and Lifestyle Aged Care Awards (HLAC) she couldn’t believe it as she had no idea that she had been nominated, but for those that have worked beside her it came as no surprise.
Shirlene has just recently returned as a Chef to Homestyle Ferndale Gardens after a 5 year stint at another site – where she was nominated even after she left! Shirlene has been a chef for 34 years with 26 of those working in Aged Care.
With a motto of goodness in everything and fresh only, Shirlene has won a number of awards as a chef in the past. Most recently in July she won Chef Manager of the Month chosen from 24 sites and also won an award from Vincent Gadan’s Chocolate Master Class.
Savory dishes and Soups are Shirlene’s specialty. She says sometimes the elderly don’t feel like eating much, but if you have made a soup from only fresh ingredients – and that includes no stock powder then they can be getting all the nutrients and vitamins from that one cup of hearty soup. Shirlene also has high standards when it comes to documentation and working with the accreditation team, and credits her nomination not just to her cooking but her high documentation standards as well.
The presentations will take place on November 2nd. We wish Shirlene all the best in her category, but are thrilled and proud of her nomination as one of the finalists and feel very fortunate to have her as one of our Chef Managers at Homestyle.
If you would like to take a tour of one of Aged Care Residences please call us on 1300 104 663.
