A resident at Richmond Care Home, Shirebrook, has returned to the kitchen she once managed.

Dorothy Townsend, 87, was formerly head cook at the care home in Shirebrook.

She became a resident at Richmond Care Home in February 2019 – a natural choice for her after working as a cook at the home for 11 years — and staff invited Dorothy (Dot) to join them in the kitchen.

Community manager Natasha Westwood said: “We knew that Dot was keen to visit her old kitchen. She didn’t want to ask so we thought we’d surprise her.”

Dot spent a morning with the current head cook at the home, Teresa Scott, and her daughter, Debbie Scott. Remarkably, both Teresa and Debbie were shown the ropes by Dot when she trained them at the time they joined the care home.

Teresa said: “I have such fond memories of working with Dot. She always gave 100% effort to her work and was fun to be around.”

And one thing that Dot enjoys about the care home today is the freshly-prepared food — especially sausage pie.

The kitchens at Richmond Care Home have a five-star hygiene rating, a scheme that wasn’t introduced by the Food Standards Agency until 2010, two years after Dot retired.

Dot raised a smile on her visit when she asked where were the tea towels, before Teresa explained that tea towels don’t meet with today’s hygiene standards.