Head chef prepares banquet for staff milestone

An activities coordinator at a Hastings care home was met with a surprise buffet to celebrate 30 years at the residence she joined at as a volunteer.

Shelagh Hazleton started working at Mountside Care Home, a branch of ACI Care, in 1992, when she joined to assist residents with their hair, before volunteering with afternoon activities. She has now worked at the home for three decades.

In order to celebrate, Mountside's head chef Steve prepared a surprise buffet for Hazleton, as well as residents and other staff.

“It’s amazing," she says. "I love my job every single day. It’s hard work but very rewarding. In fact, the rewards you get from it far outweigh the hard work.”

Hazleton was born in the house opposite the care home where she now works. Reminiscing over its history, she recalls that the property was two separate buildings, one being a boys school and the other a house that was sold to become a care home. The care home took over the house next door, combining the properties and adding an extension to make it what stands today, before ACI Care acquired it in 2020.

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