A CARE home cook met an "inspiring" celebrity chef for a competition training day.

Ready Steady Cook star Ainsley Harriott taught Linda Wiseman, who works at Bridge House Care Home in Abingdon, how to make mealtimes exciting for elderly residents.

She said: "It was such an exciting opportunity and Ainsley was incredibly inspiring. Learning from him has given me many ideas to take back to Bridge House and develop. Sharing ideas and learning with the other chefs has been a really valuable experience.

"Ainsley’s three cup chicken dish is something I am certain to cook for our residents and his Caribbean bouillabaisse was a real treat."

She joined other care homes chefs on Monday for a special workshop in London, where Mr Harriott challenged them to embrace more creative and innovative recipes.

He said: "I am passionate about good food and exciting people to create wonderful meals and dishes no matter where they eat. It’s great to see Bridge House investing in this competition and I know that Linda will embrace the challenge ahead and produce a fabulous new menu idea for the residents”.

Bridge House will submit a menu to Mr Harriott for his Food Challenge, which will be presented at the Thames View home in October.

He will compile a list of favourites and visit the shortlisted care homes on October 20 to present prizes.