The real love of his life

A year spent in a laboratory experimenting with rapeseed was enough to convince James Thomas that a career in biochemical engineering was not for him. Instead, he decided to pursue the real love of his life, hospitality and catering, and this eventually led him to his current role as Executive Chef at Dormy Care Communities.

James has spent over 30 years in the industry, beginning at the front of house and then moving into the kitchen and donning chef whites.

Self-taught, he has worked in some well-known establishments and with well-known chefs, so with his experience, he was the ideal person to oversee the catering at our four homes and work with the head chefs and their teams who make restaurant-quality meals for our ladies and gentlemen.

“I was excited about the prospect of joining a company which set up from scratch to provide luxury care homes because it meant I was coming at things from an entirely different perspective,” he explains.

“So, from the opening of the very first home, it was all about how we could improve things, rather than how we fix things, and that’s a much better angle to come from.”

James describes his role at Dormy as an autonomous one, going “wherever I am needed” and ultimately supporting the Home Directors, which include his wife Shann, and the catering teams.

His role covers everything from reviewing menus with the chefs and making sure the food we serve is nutritionally balanced, through to negotiating with suppliers and ensuring compliance.

“The ladies and gentlemen who live on our homes are likely to have eaten in some very nice restaurants before they came here, so our goal is to make the experience of dining at Bramshott Grange, Foxhunters, Brockington House and Pine Martin Grange on a par with this,” says James.

“We have very talented chefs and catering teams making sure this happens and like in a restaurant we will always ensure residents have a choice when they sit down for a meal.”

In his spare time, James enjoys food and wine (not surprisingly!), socializing with Shann and their friends, and tending to his garden/orchard.