Local family offer care home residents a taste of Italy in cook-along session

Residents at The Links Bupa Care Home have enjoyed a taste of Italy this week with the home’s activity coordinator and her parents, who provided residents with an Italian cook-along session to share some of their well-loved, traditional family recipes.

The afternoon session saw Gessica Dyke, activity co-ordinator at The Links, and her mother, Ida Mancini, showing residents how to make homemade tagliatelle, taking time to wind the pasta machine together to create traditional Italian recipes.

Meanwhile, Cosimo Mancini, Gessica’s father, made homemade pizza for the residents – traditionally hand-stretching the dough and throwing it into the air. To complete the afternoon, residents were treated to homemade wine and mini bruschetta, enjoying traditional Italian music to set the scene.

One resident, Joan Sammons, aged 85: “I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Gessica’s parents. It was great to have an insight into Italian culture and food – the music was lovely, and the wine was delicious!”

Another resident, Ron Harding, aged 87, commented: “I had a wonderful time. The pizza was tasty, and I even had a go at throwing up in the air – it was quite the experience.”

Gessica Dyke, activity co-ordinator at The Links, commented: “We had a fabulous day sharing our family’s recipes with the residents. I also taught the residents some Italian words and phrases, which they picked up quickly. The residents looked like they had a wonderful time and I think it was a huge success.

“When the song I walked down the aisle to when I got married, Con te partirò by Andrea Bocelli, came on, one of the residents was singing alone, and it really choked me up. He knew it made me emotional and said, ‘please don’t cry, it’s a happy song’, which is a lovely memory.”

Residents at The Links look forward to practicing their pasta and pizza-making skills so that they can return the favour and cook for them during their next visit.

The Links Bupa Care Home is situated in Dorset and welcomes residents in need of nursing or residential care, including those living with dementia, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s. For further information, please visit https://www.bupa.co.uk/care-services