When a talented chef joined the culinary team at Balhousie Ruthven Towers, it wasn’t just his delightful lemon sponges that have been causing a stir. It turns out he’s also a fabulous musical performer.
An experienced pastry chef by day, John Morris joined the team in Auchterarder earlier this year and has been sweetening the staff and residents with his delightful bakes ever since.
But, staff at the care home couldn’t believe their luck when they discovered John doubles as a singer. Since then, he’s been regularly serenading the residents with a variety of popular songs and, this month, lots of Christmas carols.
John’s always had a passion for music, having learned the guitar over twenty years ago. Performing for the residents has been the icing on the cake for him. John said:
“I thoroughly enjoy it! We have a couple of residents who like to get involved when I perform, singing along and dancing. They all seem to really enjoy it. I can take requests too, as long as I’ve got a bit of time to practice beforehand!”
The team at Ruthven Towers are delighted to have John in their team, primarily as a chef, but also helping to support with musical activities for the residents.
Cheryl Arnott, Home Manager at Balhousie Ruthven Towers, said:
“We struck gold when John joined our team at Ruthven Towers. Firstly, he’s a fantastic chef who really cares about offering the residents dishes they will love. Who knew he’d also be delighting everyone with live musical performances. John really embodies the phrase ‘going the extra mile’. He does whenever he sings and we so appreciate it.”
From South Africa, John worked as a pastry chef for a range of large production facilities before moving to Scotland and working at nearby Crieff Hydro before joining the team at Ruthven Towers.
Now, having worked in a care home kitchen, he wouldn’t have it any other way. John said:
“When you work in hotels and restaurants, the menu is often quite rigid. Here we can tailor the menus to our residents’ requirements and take requests to make dishes that they would like to eat which is always nice to be able to do.”
