Swapped the classroom for a care home kitchen
Date of news/blog: 12th December 2025A member of the Brockington House team who swapped the classroom for a care home kitchen has narrowly missed out on winning a prestigious national cookery competition – dressed as Elvis Presley!
From hundreds of initial entries, Ash Davies was one of only six chefs asked to ‘cook off’ in the recent grand finale of the 2025 Creed Foodservice Chef of the Year competition.
Although he didn’t win, he was singled out for praise by the judges for the progress he has made in the kitchen over the last 12 months, having also competed in the same competition in 2024.
Ash, who works as a Second Chef at Brockington House, only took up professional catering three years ago after deciding not to use his teaching qualification to work in a school.
In this year’s competition, the six finalists were given a brief of creating a themed mealtime experience which goes beyond the usual, while still meeting the dietary and emotional needs of residents.
As an Elvis Presley impersonator regularly comes to Brockington House to entertain residents, Ash devised an American style BBQ theme, preparing a main course consisting of a homemade beef burger slider in a homemade brioche bun with American style cheese, fresh tomatoes & iceberg lettuce, pink coleslaw & double cooked chips. He decided to pair this with a dessert of Bananas Foster flambéed in sweet rum & dark brown sugar, topped with fresh walnuts and served with homemade vanilla ice cream.
He did this all this whilst dressed as Elvis Presley and played music from The King when he served the food surrounded by laminated photos of the days ‘Elvis’ has visited to perform for the residents at Brockington House, which is one of five luxury homes owned by Dormy Care Communities.
“The judges & other chefs were really impressed that I went that extra mile and I explained that this is how we do things at Brockington House,” said Ash
“We’re not just there to cook the food, we like to get involved with, and entertain, the ladies and gentlemen and we are always dressing up for some occasion!”
Ash says he has no regrets about choosing cooking over teaching.
“I love cooking and hearing the nice comments from the judges was a prize in itself,” he adds.
“Knowing the chef judges recognise me and how my skills have progressing over the last 12 months means a lot and this has just pushed me to go further and win the competition next year.”
James Thomas, Executive Chef at Dormy Care Communities, said: “Ash did tremendously well and everyone at Brockington House and Dormy Care Communities is very proud of him.
“He is a real rising star in the world of catering and the possibilities really are endless for him.”
Ash also recently won the Spirit of Dormy Award at the company’s recent annual award ceremony. The award recognises a member of staff from the five homes who shines and goes above and beyond in the course of their work.