When words fail and time seems to slow down, sometimes a simple gesture can say everything. In a place where care is provided differently, a chef observed a recurring, touching, and universal request. A request that speaks neither of Michelin-starred cuisine nor culinary trends, but of comfort, memories, and gentleness. What if this seemingly ordinary dish revealed much more about us than we imagine?
Cooking as a profoundly human act
In a palliative care center in Oxfordshire, chef Spencer Richards doesn’t just fill plates. For him, each meal is an act of care, almost a silent conversation. In an interview with The Mirror, he explains how accompanying people at the end of their journey through food is a rare privilege. Adapting, listening, suggesting… here, the menu is written first and foremost with the heart.
Changing tastes, asserting desires
When going through a period of great vulnerability, one’s relationship with food evolves. Textures should be softer, flavors more subtle, because sensitivity to salt increases and appetite can fluctuate. The chef also observes that many patients develop a particular fondness for sweets. Not out of excessive sweet tooth, but because sugar often evokes tenderness, childhood, and happy moments.