Poulton care home chef scoops top vegetarian food award with watermelon dish

Gary McGurk, 28, from Cleveleys, a chef at Primrose Bank Care Home on Breck Road in Poulton, won the award for "Most Innovative Veggie Dish" at Vegetarian for Life's 2020 Awards for Excellence in Vegetarian and Vegan Care Catering.

Vegetarian for Life, a UK charity working on behalf of older vegans and vegetarians, held its annual awards virtually this year - and Gary scooped the top prize for his seared watermelon dish.

Gary said: "I was encouraged by my line manager to submit a dish, and I decided to make something vegan because it's growing in popularity.

"I was excited when I was shortlisted as a finalist, because I'd never entered a competition before. When I heard that I'd actually won I was over the moon."

While working as a chef at Primrose Bank for the past 18 months, Gary regularly made vegetarian meals for a resident who came in to the home on respite stays.

The resident was not a fan of Quorn or meat replacement products, so he inspired Gary to come up with something new.

"He loved the watermelon, he said he'd never had anything like it and it was different, so he enjoyed it," Gary continued.

"We normally have an open door policy, but because of Covid-19 I haven't been able to cook for as many people as I usually would, so it was really exciting to win the award. "