January Champion - Angela Garcia

Angela attended the inaugural masterclass in the Barossa valley in 2015. It has been a pleasure to keep in contact over the years, we continue to be inspired by the amazing food and effort she puts in to the dining experience for her residents. In November 2018 the Japara group opened Rye Sands on the Mornington Peninsula, Angela is the head chef and caters for 80 residents… I challenge you not to smile at the fun and beautifully homemade food the residents were treated to over the festive season.         “We invited our neighbours, family, staff and residents to celebrate. There was live music and dancing, it was great fun and the local fire brigade truck visited with Santa on board! Guests enjoyed home cooked Christmas treats; Strawberry tarts with fresh berries from Red Hill strawberry farm, lemon curd tarts, we made gingerbread houses and biscuits, fresh Ice mint tea and fruit punch. Lemon and dill blini’s with smoked salmon. All created in our new kitchen; we have a Frima Vario cooking centre which is so great, it helps so much with time! We are still learning how to use it but could be such a great help to cooks and chefs with time restraints and volume you can cook. Last week we planted a herb garden with our residents and passionfruit vines, we are very excited!!! We are serving a Buffet Breakfast which is going fantastic, and a hot cooked breaky twice a week. It’s a very exciting time and we have great team of staff.”