My name is Taryna and I work at Edensor Care Home as an activities co-ordinator.We host the FaNs Care Home Bake Off competition at our home in Clacton-on-Sea

With FaNs, we invite other care homes from the Tendring area to come into our home, where we compete against each other in a friendly competition to see whom can be crowned the winner. FaNs organises sponsorship of the event through Tesco, provides a trophy and helps out at the event itself. We always invite members of the community into the home to taste the wonderful cakes the residents have created and to ultimately decide upon a winner! The residents so look forward to baking in the lead up to the event. They have an opportunity to get out of their chairs, away from their TV's and magazines, to get up on their feet and participate in something special. When they're baking they smile so much, bringing back the memories of when they cooked at home for their own friends and families in their own homes.

When the other care homes in the competition arrive on the day, new bonds are created and friendships made. Stories are swapped and memories exchanged over a slice of cake and a cup of tea. This simple idea does wonders for the mental health of our residents, and they all ask when the next one will be!

We are so grateful to FaNs and Tesco for the kind donation of the ingredients and we want to say a huge THANK YOU from all of our new friends, the staff and residents of all the homes involved, not just here at Edensor.

We're are looking forward to baking again this year as we now planning an Easter, Summer and Halloween Bake Off events, and then another Christmas bake off.

All the homes are so excited for this and the Residents can't wait to start cooking again!

Taryna Ansell, Activities-Co-ordinator, Edensor Care & Nursing Home