TOO PRETTY TO EAT

Not everybody has been existing on banana bread this lockdown. These delicate and fragrantlooking dishes are the work of Julie Riddell, a live-in carer for Consultus Care, who’s been serving up her client a taste of her own garden.

The 55-year-old carer is isolating for 12 weeks with her 96-year-old client Rosemary Raymond in Charing, Kent, to keep her safe.

But her extraordinary cooking skills are have even taken Julie by surprise – because she’s never trained to be a chef. “I’m usually too busy to do anything this creative, but during lockdown I’ve had time to stop and smell the flowers,” she says.

“I just want to make every day special for Rosemary during this difficult time.” Sadly now unable to visit her own garden, Rosemary reads her newspaper in bed in the mornings while Julie creates artistic masterpieces from the abundance of flowers in the tiny courtyard garden.

Julie says: “Rosemary loves my cooking. She eats everything I put in front of her with great delight and when something so simple lights up her face, I feel it is actually her keeping me going, rather than me helping her.”

Julie’s menus include favourites from around the world – curries, moussaka, sweet and sour chicken or stuffed peppers from the Mediterranean. But it is puddings where her skills really come to life – serving slices of lemon cake with summer fruits and cream, or blitzing bananas to make ice cream.

She even has a top tip: “Lemons can be juiced and frozen with honey or a little sugar to make a super sorbet. And if a client ever needs a little assistance with their dietary needs, I make a mean prune jelly.”