From A Soldier’s Life To The Caring Homes Family – Bev Puxley Award Winner, Steve Wright

We’re delighted to announce that Caring Homes Group Executive Chef, Steve Wright, is the winner of the Bev Puxley Award, presented at the NACC (National Association of Care Catering) Awards 2024.

Proud Winner of the Bev Puxley Award

The Bev Puxley Award recognises an influential and motivated care chef who has significantly contributed to enhancing catering in their workplace, and who also encourages and trains others to achieve the same high standards of catering for their residents.

Group Hospitality Manager, Ben Frizell said, “This award sums Steve up to a ‘T’. He demonstrates these attributes every day as he supports all our homes across the group, always willing to go above and beyond to guide and encourage every member of our catering teams. Steve is an influential figure in the Caring Homes family and we are extremely proud that he has been recognised by the National Association of Care Caterers”.

Steve has been with Caring Homes since joining as a Head Chef in 2018 but his journey began when he first considered life as a chef, aged 15. This is Steve’s story.

Growing Up as a Chef in the Army

“I joined the British Army aged 15, after getting permission from my headmaster to apply early. School in Edinburgh wasn’t really for me, and I’d been in the army cadets as a kid, so off I went to the recruitment centre with my best friend. He signed up for the infantry, but even then, I knew I should plan for when I left the army (you can stay for 25 years’ maximum unless you’re an officer). With the future in mind, I became an apprentice chef.

The apprenticeship lasted two years and covered my education and military training as well as cooking. My first tour was a short one to Germany, but after that came the Gulf War and during my 25 years in the army, I did nine operational tours, including postings to Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Northern Ireland.

Life Skills Put to Good Use

Whatever your role in the military, you’re taught life skills that become second nature to you so it’s easy to apply them to other scenarios, especially around communication, management, and handling issues. When I left the army, I put these skills to good use in restaurants and in contract catering. Initially, I enjoyed working in a different environment but after a few years, the long, long hours and the intensity started to take their toll.

So, what next? I had a lot of experience to offer, but I wanted something with a ‘feel good factor’ – where I could focus on people, rather than the number of covers I’d served, or how late I’d finished and how little sleep I’d get before the next shift started! A chance connection on Facebook brought Caring Homes onto my radar and after an initial meeting, I realised that the care industry could offer me just what I needed: the chance to make a difference to people’s lives alongside enjoying a better quality of life for myself.

Holding the Hands of my Customers

I joined Caring Homes in 2018 as a Head Chef. It was daunting, to say the least! Even though I’m what you’d called a ‘seasoned chef’ with 30 years’ experience, I’d never held the hands of my customers (sometimes literally) to the extent that’s necessary within the care industry. It felt like a huge responsibility. Luckily, the support I received during this time was invaluable. My military training taught me to how to learn quickly and adapt to different situations but even so, I was truly grateful for what I learned from residents, staff, and relatives along the way.

What’s special about Caring Homes is the level of personal attention given to every single resident. All the decisions in the homes are resident-led, and food is a very popular topic! I discovered that what I enjoyed most was talking to the residents and listening to their life stories, then putting myself in their shoes and using this knowledge to create food they’d like. I got so much satisfaction from this; I could help to sustain them, and I was also giving residents something to look forward to.

Funnily enough, this was exactly the same in the army. If you’re on a tour and your day consists of relentless patrols in all weathers, getting back to base to eat becomes a real highlight. Our goal as chefs was to make mealtimes as enjoyable for the troops as possible, just to break the monotony of their day, and the quality of cooking was higher than you might think!

Sharing My Experience to Support our Chefs

Once I’d settled in and got to know how Caring Homes worked, I realised that to meet the high standards the company aspired to – delivering exceptional care and service every day by anticipating each resident’s needs – chefs around the group needed some support. I volunteered my own services and was promoted within Caring Homes to Group Executive Head Chef.

I’m always in the kitchens around the group, getting stuck in and making sure we’re never short on creativity, whether it’s our residents’ menu, a special event, or a lunch for relatives. As well as giving practical support and of course, having a chat with residents, I’m busy completing audits or coaching chefs through our development programme. I’m also a sounding board for feedback, ideas, and the occasional gripe – not too dissimilar to the army in some ways!

Creating the Best Possible Environment for Our Residents

An important part of my job is helping chefs understand the value of what they do at Caring Homes and how much they can contribute. You need to have right attitude every single day, understanding that we work as a team – that’s every department, not just the kitchen – to create the best environment and experience for the residents and their families. For me, giving someone the best training possible is an absolute must, so if you’re the right fit for Caring Homes, we’ll develop you, no matter where you start.

Making people happy would be a great line on a job description and as I see it, it’s definitely on mine. If you’re looking for a career where your hard work makes a difference that you can see every day, take the first step and have a look at the opportunities on our Caring Homes careers website.