Originally from South Africa, Shane Ormshaw is a chef at Ryman Healthcare’s newly built Linda Jones Retirement Village in Flagstaff, Hamilton. Ormshaw said that working in the village has been a new challenge. Still, he has formed invaluable friendships with his colleagues and residents and values the opportunity to spend time with his family.
His work within the aged care sector has been acknowledged at the Excellence in Care Awards 2023, presented by the Aged Care Association of New Zealand.
“I am absolutely thrilled to have won the award. It is a really great accolade that is deserved from the fabulous kitchen team and the support from my village manager and Ryman food service team,” said Ormshaw.
Although Ormshaw won on the night, he added that it was a group effort to bring home the gold.
“I am most proud of the team I have. Each one has been hand-picked since the village opened, and together each day, we can provide the quality and consistency of food our residents deserve. I am extremely grateful for all their hard work.”
Having learnt to cook from a young age, Ormshaw was heavily influenced by his parents, who both loved to cook and encouraged him to turn his passion into a career. Ormshaw built up his experience in the kitchen by working in a range of hotels by catering for functions such as weddings and conferences.
Early in his career as a fully qualified chef, Ormshaw spent five years catering 250 meals a day for mainly military personnel at the RAF Ascension Island airfield in the Atlantic Ocean. His experience here taught Ormshaw the importance of menu planning and managing stock, as he would only have one shipment every six weeks.
Ormshaw moved to New Zealand with his wife and young son in 2018, where he soon found work at SkyCity Hamilton until the Covid-19 pandemic forced the restaurant he was working at to shut down temporarily.
The Linda Jones Retirement Village offered Ormshaw the perfect work-and-life balance, adding that catering for the village may not be what people initially think it is.
“Retirement village food is not boring and dull; the great thing is you get feedback daily. The residents will tell you if they like it, and I enjoy forming those relationships with people.”
His advice to young talent starting in the industry is to be patient with their approach and focus on the tasks in front of them. From his experience, it can be easy to be overwhelmed due to lacking skills and knowledge, but everything will become clearer over time.
“Timing is the most important thing to me in the kitchen. Cooking is a time-critical job and essential to both the management of the kitchen and delivery.”
