Pots of praise for lockdown chef Ben

Dishing up free meals for Stanley’s isolated elderly

A Stanley-based chef has stolen the hearts of his community by cooking free meals for the elderly.

Ben Haddow wasted little time in starting-up the operation from his own home after the coronavirus outbreak left many of the village’s residents in isolation.

He started off delivering to a handful of homes but the 34-year-old is now taking his much-appreciated service to 35 households every week.

Soups, prawn cocktail, gammon and cheesecakes are familiar sights on the menu as Ben admits the idea has grown arms and legs. But he would not have it any other way.

Ben, who continues to work as a chef at Kincarrathie House in Perth, said: “It was the first week of lockdown and I was thinking of a way to help my community.

“I’m a chef in a care home and I know how much food means to an elderly person. I know they look forward to meals throughout the day.

“I was sitting thinking that some people will not be able to leave the house. What if they didn’t have family who could get them messages?

“At least if I could give them a threecourse meal a week, I would know their belly would be full that day.

“At first I thought it was going to be five people but it has blown up and I’m now doing 35 households a week.

“The reaction has been absolutely fantastic and I’m now even getting donations to help go towards the food.”

Ben has been receiving help from other dedicated villagers and has vowed to continue cooking up a storm for as long as possible.

“This will continue every week now,” Ben told the Perthshire Advertiser. “I’m going to continue this for as long as I can.

“Some people have come to rely on this meal and they wait for me at the door, which is quite nice. I let them know what day I am coming now.

“I’m getting phone calls asking to go to a person’s house because they’ve just heard about it. It’s grown every week.

“I’ll go to the door and, because I grew up in Stanley, I’ll get: ‘I remember you when you were just five years old’. It’s lovely and you get all the stories.

“I’m very proud because this gives me a sense of accomplishment. I’m giving back to the village that gave me everything.”

While proud of his efforts, Ben also turned the spotlight on the village as a whole and highlighted how much everyone has come together during the pandemic.

He said: “Stanley is a special place and if you don’t live there, you won’t see it. It’s such a tight-knit community.

“You can go to someone’s house and ask for a bag of sugar, and they would give you it.

“A few weeks ago I needed to borrow a blender for the soups. I put a message up on the Stanley page and within 20 minutes one was dropped off at my door.

“I’ve never seen so many people help others. I didn’t even realise there was this many people in the village.

“The village has really come together.”