A retired administrative worker who took up a job as a care home cook to ease her restlessness is in the running for a national award.
June Tong, born in Devizes in Wiltshire but now living in Pontardawe, Swansea, has been working as one of the head cooks at the town’s Dan Y Bryn care home, owned by the Pobl Group, since 2022 after cutting short early retirement to alleviate boredom.
The 61-year-old, who studied catering at Salisbury College in Wiltshire at the age of 16 but has mostly worked in administrative roles since, now has barely any time to herself – and wouldn’t want it any other way!
The culinary queen, who once iced a birthday cake in braille to surprise a resident who is registered blind, is now one of three national finalists to be put forward for the Excellence in Catering Award, sponsored by Castell Howell Foods Ltd, at this year’s Wales Care Awards.
The glittering ceremony, sponsored overall by Meddyg Care and organised by care industry champions Care Forum Wales, recognise the outstanding work of those in the care sector, with all finalists guaranteed to come away with either a gold, silver or bronze prize in recognition of their achievements.
She will discover her fate at a glittering awards ceremony to be held at Holland House Hotel in Cardiff on Friday, October 17.
June, who has three grown-up children and is married to Kevin, said: “It was such a shock, I cried when they told me!
“I do all this because I enjoy making people happy. To see the residents smiling is what I’m here to do, but then to know that people are noticing, that’s what makes this so special.
“I always said when I first started here that it felt right. I think this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.
“As time has gone on, it’s just got better.”
June, who has food safety and kitchen management qualifications, originally set her heart on a career as a maths teacher but was talked into signing up at the local catering college by her grandmother, a keen cook herself.
Other than a short stint running her own catering business when her children were small, she set aside her passion for cooking to pursue other careers and ended up working as an administrative clerk for an insurance firm.
“It was all going ok until we had to work from home during Covid and afterwards, they started to offer redundancies,” she said.
“I decided to take it, retire early and enjoy life but a few months in I was already bored. My house was immaculate, my garden spotless, so I had to find something else to do. I saw a job advertised as a kitchen assistant, 24 hours per week. It sounded just right, a nice simple job where I could go home at the end of the day and forget about it, no hassle!
“But it wasn’t too long after I’d started that I ended up swapping roles with another lady who was a cook and wanted to become a kitchen assistant and there I was running a kitchen!
“I still do my 24 hours per week, but I often come in on my days off to do arts and crafts and gardening with the residents on a voluntary basis.”
With life coming full circle, June says everything feels like it has fallen into place.
“I’ve no intention of going anywhere else. I have less time at home and even when I am there, I’m busy knitting pumpkins to decorate the garden for the residents to celebrate Halloween. But even if I just make one person happier, then I know I’ve done my best.
“We must remember that this is the residents’ home, and it’s our job to make it like they are still living in their own home. They enjoy their takeaways as much as everyone else and so once a month we’ll have a Kentucky fried chicken-style meal or fish and chips served in real newspaper. We’ll organise a Chinese takeaway and serve everything in silver containers. We do lots of theme days – any excuse for a big party.
“When one of our ladies who is blind was celebrating her birthday, I made her a cake, piping icing to spell out Happy Birthday in braille.
“I used a particular icing that was very firm so all the dots stayed as raised so she could feel them. She loved it and still takes about it even now!
“I try to do things that mean something to the residents.”
June’s colleagues say she consistently goes above and beyond to bring smiles and joy to the residents to celebrate their special moments.
Janine Marouf, General Manager at Dan Y Bryn, who nominated June for the award, said: “I am not surprised June has made it through, she goes above and beyond daily, putting love and care into the food she provides along with coming in out of hours to carry out activities and decorating the home for special events – so much to list!
“Congratulations June and good luck, you are a winner in our eyes!”
