Montpellier Accountants serves up a ‘Taste of Home’ for St Catherine’s Hospice

Colleagues at a Preston firm have cooked up a storm with an impressive buffet lunch in support of St Catherine’s Hospice.

Staff at Montpellier Accountants joined in the charity’s Open Up campaign in March, raising funds to help ‘open up’ hospice care to even more people who could benefit from the specialist palliative and end-of-life care offered by St Catherine’s at the Lostock Hall hospice, and in patient’s own homes.

The Fulwood firm chose to take part in the #TasteOfHome initiative as part of the month-long campaign, which encouraged people to ‘open up’ their workplace, home, or community group and serve dishes which remind them of home.

More than 25 members of staff made their signature dishes from scratch and came together to enjoy an array of homemade food in return for a donation to St Catherine’s.

Director at Montpellier Accountants, Louise Highton, said: “Everyone really embraced the #TasteOfHome challenge and were really motivated to serve up lots of tasty dishes – we had everything from enchiladas, pasta bakes and mac and cheese, to vegetable bhajis, chicken wraps, nachos, and cakes.

“It’s a great idea which we really enjoyed getting involved with; it was nice to get everyone together for the occasion, and the directors prepared and served the food to staff.”

She added: “I have personal experience of the care provided by St Catherine’s with my own family – both through the Clinical Nurse Specialist team who care for people in their own homes, and at the hospice on the inpatient unit.

“I think a lot of local people have come into contact with St Catherine’s and we all really value and appreciate the charity, so it was great to get everyone together at Montpellier Accountants to support this worthy local cause.

“We’re thinking of making #TasteOfHome an annual event as it went down so well with everyone, and people really made a lot of effort with their favourite foods and home-cooked specialities.”

Staff also put a twist on a ‘dress down’ day and decided to ‘dress up’ for the occasion, as well as holding a raffle with M&S vouchers and luxury Easter eggs as prizes, resulting in the firm donating a wonderful £300.

Emily Bate, community engagement assistant at the charity, said: “The Open Up campaign – which we joined with our national charity Hospice UK for – was really successful throughout March. It inspired supporters to ‘open up’ their homes and workplaces to raise vital funds for their local hospice in a range of fun and sociable ways.

“One of the initiatives of Open Up was the #TasteOfHome challenge, and we were delighted to see how enthusiastic staff at Montpellier Accountants were about creating a very impressive and varied spread of mouth-watering signature dishes for colleagues to enjoy. Thank you to everyone who got involved and supported the cause!”

Emily added: “March may be over but it’s never too late to do something positive for your local hospice. If #TasteOfHome whets your appetite, why not host a dinner party, wine tasting or gin tasting night at home, and invite friends and family round in return for a donation to St Catherine’s? Or organise a bake sale, quiz, or silly tie day in the office?  There are lots of fun ways to show your support, so get in touch to get started!”

The hospice’s community engagement team is on hand with ideas, fundraising packs, St Catherine’s t-shirts, collection buckets, posters and more to help individuals and businesses raise vital funds for the charity. To get involved, email fundraising@stcatherines.co.uk or call 01772 629171.

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