Masterclass Champion: Andrew Smith, Kalyra Woodcroft Aged Care

The Maggie Beer Foundation loves to hear from cooks and chefs who have attended our Masterclasses and who return to their homes determined to make a difference. Andrew Smith, Head Chef at Kalyra Woodcroft in South Australia attended a Masterclass in Melbourne in 2019 and recently got in touch to let us know of a fun bakery day he had arranged. Andrew says, "we recently had a bakery themed lunch with fresh salad rolls, beef and mushroom pies, banana chocolate milkshake and a piece of vanilla slice to finish it off. However we tried something a little different, which was to bake the bread rolls fresh ourselves,utilising the ovens in the residents dining rooms. (this is usually done inside the main kitchen in my large commercial oven) I started by making the large dough in the main kitchen and then separated it to prove in the individual resident dining rooms. After some time to rise I had some help from one of our residents, Rosie, who helped me portion the rolls and make the shapes. Then while the dough was proving for a second time, Rosie played with some dough, making pretzel shapes and talking of how she used to have a nice bread preparation board that her husband had made for her when she was younger. The end result, fresh baked bread rolls cooked in the residents dining rooms and ready to be filled with fresh salad goodies. I plan to use the cooking equipment in the dining rooms on a more frequent basis, to encourage more engaging interactions between residents and staff around meal times that will excite and encourage eating.'