08/04/2026
When Chef Rene Horton began her career, she never aspired to work in the aged care industry but now, after 10 years of working at Royal Freemasons' Centennial Lodge home, she wouldn’t dream of doing anything else.
Growing up in South Africa, Rene always knew that she wanted to become a chef because it was so much part of her family culture. “I grew up in a house where we were always baking, pickling things, making chutney, and cooking roasts,” she says. “So, it was just part of growing up. I always loved cooking. I tried a few other different things before I became a chef, but I would always come back to it; it was something that was just part of me.”
Rene is deeply passionate about creating a satisfying food experience for residents. While most of her time is spent in the kitchen, she relishes the opportunity to meet residents from across the home so she can grasp what they love to eat.
“At lunch times I normally like to go out and have a chat with the residents. I do have an admin day every second week and that is another time when I try to get around the home and talk to people, do surveys and find out what they like to eat.
“I love meeting all the residents, people from all different walks of life, people from India and China. They come with all these different stories, and I love cooking dishes that are familiar to them.”
Each seasonal menu is formulated with feedback from these interactions, the food focus group attended by residents and their representatives, as well as input from other chef managers, the executive and a dietician. Different tastes, dietary requirements and texture levels all need to be catered for to create meals that are nutritional, varied, tasty and appealing to the eye.
While drafting the menu is a complex process, at the end of the day, Rene is passionate about cooking food that is well-loved by residents. “I’m aiming for comfort when I cook. People feel comforted by food that they have grown up with, that they’re familiar with,” says Rene.
“I had a resident who said, ‘I’m never going to have the congee I had when I was growing up.’ And I said ‘Well, give me the recipe and I can try making it.’ She absolutely loved it and her daughter used to bring it in every day from a restaurant but eventually she said, ‘Please don’t bring the one from the restaurant because I love the one that is being made here.’ So, that sort of thing is wonderful.”
🧡 Interested in joining a team where food creates connection? Explore opportunities at royalfreemasons.org.au/careers/
