Monmouth Nursing Home Digs into Pizzas, Strombolis and Calzones
Fresh pizza was on the menu at Gibraltar Nursing Home in Monmouth recently, as residents, fondly referred to as family members, came together from across the home’s households for a ‘Make It, Bake It, Eat It!’ Pizza Party.
Neil and Joan looking through the pizza toppings.
The afternoon took place in the home’s Pillars Restaurant, a dedicated dining space where family members can enjoy a change of setting for meals and special occasions. Relatives and friends are also welcome to join them, making it another place for people to spend time together over food.
Italian music was playing, flags decorated the room and chef’s hats had been placed on the tables for anyone who fancied wearing one. Bowls of freshly chopped toppings were laid out ready for family members to choose what they would like, while the kitchen team rolled dough balls into individual pizza bases before handing them out on trays.
The first job was to spread a few spoonfuls of tomato passata across each base, with a little help from team members where needed. Then came the toppings, with everyone free to create their own combinations, adding as much or as little of each ingredient as they fancied.
For those wanting to try something a little different, there was also the opportunity to make strombolis and calzones, folding the dough around the fillings rather than just making a traditional flat pizza.
Group Catering Lead Neil Whalen certainly embraced the occasion, wearing a pizza hat and keeping everyone entertained as he sang and danced along to the music while making pizzas. His antics had plenty of people around the tables laughing.
The Italian music was particularly appreciated by family member Alba, who is Italian herself and could be heard singing along to parts of the songs. She also spent some time chatting happily in Italian!
Alba’s love of Italian food is something the kitchen team know well. Although the home has seasonal menus which change throughout the year, individual preferences are always taken into account. Alba, for example, often prefers a plate of pasta to traditional British dishes such as shepherd’s pie, so this is prepared for her instead.
Family member Ralph, who isn’t particularly fond of pizza, joined the gathering simply because he wanted to be part of the afternoon. When team member Emily Porter offered to help him make a pizza, he politely declined, saying, ‘No thank you, just happy to be part of the afternoon.’
Later, Emily came around with a plate of freshly cooked pizza and offered Ralph a slice to try. This time he accepted, and when she returned with the plate a little later, he waved her down and asked for another piece!
Elsewhere around the tables, Jason had discovered that the bowls of toppings made for rather good snacking, helping himself to pieces of ham and giving a mischievous smile when he was caught!
Jason mischievously snacking on toppings!
Once the pizzas had been prepared, they were popped in an oven in full view of the restaurant, so everyone could watch them cooking while conversation continued around the tables. Before long, the smell of freshly baked pizza filled the room, and the finished creations were ready to be sliced and shared.
Reflecting on the afternoon, Emily shared, ‘We had such a good laugh! Jason was helping himself to the ham before we’d even started cooking, and Ralph, who didn’t want any pizza at first, ended up coming back for seconds! It was lovely seeing everyone doing things their own way and having such a good time together.’
To read more stories about the events, activities, and people living and working at Gibraltar Nursing Home, please click here.