The head chef at Horsell Lodge care home has been presented with the King’s Coronation Medal.

As the nation celebrated the coronation of King Charles and Camilla, Gavin Speller, who has worked in hospitality for many years and often supported the military in his previous role, was part of a team engaged to support the troops involved in “Operation Golden Orb”.

This involved feeding the troops while they were rehearsing for the coronation and also on the day itself. As the troops were rotating on eight-hour shifts, this meant offering a catering service 24 hours a day, providing hot food on site and packed meals to take away.

As catering manager, Gavin was overseeing a team of 43, civilian and military, and had been tasked to feed an extra 2,000 people on top of the 1,000 he normally catered for.

“Requirements were constantly changing,” Gavin said. “It wasn’t unusual to receive a text message at 7pm requesting 4,000 bottles of water and 1,000 packed lunches the next day!”

Gavin was informed that a citation had been submitted for his contribution to the coronation, and was later delighted to hear that his daughter, who had worked for the same company, was due to receive the medal too.

The ceremony took place at The Guards Chapel, Wellington Barracks, in London.

Now his daily routine is very different and residents at Horsell Lodge are benefiting from his expertise and creativity – last year his courgette and lemon cake won the Caring Homes competition to find a signature cake.

Gavin said, “Although I am immensely proud of what I achieved whilst working with the military, I am so happy to be working in the care sector, to really know the residents and be able to make them happy. It’s more like cooking for family.”