RBL Cookbook Winner: A Wendy House Treat

In honour of The Royal British Legion’s centenary this year, and in line with the release of their veteran cookbook – ‘Cooking with Heroes: The Royal British Legion Centenary Cookbook’, Avery held a competition whereby residents were invited to share their favourite childhood food memories. Chef Shell Auwkit at Avalon Court Care Home in Coventry shares her most fond childhood food memory of escaping to the wendy house for a secret treat…

“Growing up, I was very fortunate to have a chef as a mum. There were always lots of different creations in the house, and of course, lots of goodies. I found it very hard to choose a favourite dish as I have so many wonderful childhood food memories. One that will always stick with my mother and me, however, is a story from when I was about three years old. I adored my wendy house when I was a child; it was a place to escape to, and a perfect spot to sneak food from the fridge! In one instance, I went to the fridge looking for something tasty and found my mother’s smoked mackerel pate. I took it out of the fridge and went and hid in my wendy house to eat it. After around 15 minutes, my mother wondered what I was up to, and to her astonishment, she found her three-year-old child eating a pate like it was a normal thing for me to do. We still laugh about this today 29 years on, as now my children do the same with food I’ve made.”