We bring the kitchen to you. Care & Culinary runs hands-on baking and chocolate-making sessions inside aged care homes, SIL houses and supported independent living facilities across the Gold Coast and Brisbane. Residents bake, decorate and share what they make — and the sharing is usually the part that matters.
What happens in a session?
A facilitator arrives with everything needed, sets up in your communal kitchen or dining area, and runs a session of 90 minutes to two hours. Residents do the baking themselves, at whatever level they can manage, and every one of them finishes with something they made.
- All ingredients, equipment and aprons supplied
- Simple, adaptable recipes — cookies, muffins, cakes, chocolates
- Allergen-aware menus, with eggless and dietary options
- A certificate of participation for every resident
- We leave the kitchen as we found it
How do you adapt for different abilities?
Every step has a version that works. Someone who cannot manage a knife gets a different tool or a step that is partly prepared; someone who needs hand-over-hand support gets it; someone who can only watch still decorates and still takes something home.
Nobody sits out. That is the whole design, and it is why these sessions work in rooms where residents have very different capabilities.
What session options are there?
- One-off sessions for special events, holidays or celebrations.
- Monthly or weekly programs, which give residents something fixed to look forward to.
- Seasonal themes — Christmas baking, Easter treats, Mother’s Day gifts.
Regular programs tend to work better than one-offs. Residents who know the baking session is on Thursday start talking about it on Tuesday, and that anticipation is part of the benefit.
Why do facilities book us?
- It is a real activity. Fine motor skills, memory, sequencing and conversation, rather than something to fill an afternoon.
- It is fully supported. We bring everything, run it, and clean up — your staff are not running it for us.
- Allergen management and risk assessment are built into how we plan a session.
- We do this elsewhere too. A ten-week NDIS baking course and school holiday programs for children, so the approach is tested across very different groups.
What does a session cost?
It depends on the number of residents, the session length and whether you want a one-off or a program. We send a written quote with a program outline before anything is booked, so you can take it to whoever approves the spend.
For NDIS participants in SIL settings, sessions can usually be arranged as a group activity — our community access page explains how group activities are funded and claimed.
Which facilities do you visit?
Aged care homes, SIL houses, supported independent living facilities, group homes and day programs across the Gold Coast and Brisbane. If you are further out, ask — we travel for regular programs.
Book a session for your facility
Call 0451 115 196 or email info@careandculinary.com.au for a program outline and pricing. Lifestyle coordinators and facility managers can also send an enquiry through our referral form.