Past and Present Chefs share their love for food and family

For 88-year-old Joan Edwards, being one of the first ladies to work at Qantas in the kitchen will be a memory she will cherish forever.

“I was working with some of Australia’s top-quality Chefs at the time and when I wasn’t in the kitchen, I was a ground hostess waiting on all the big bosses. It was a big career achievement for me,” Joan said.

“I had so much fun working in the kitchen, I used to prepare all the food trays and I got up to lots of mischief with the other ladies! The best part about my job was that I made lifelong friends.”

Joan now lives at Juniper Hilltop Residential Aged Care Home and her face lights up when she reminisces about her cooking.

“Ever since I remember, I have loved cooking and when I became a mother, I always made sure my family ate right with delicious and nutritious meals. I wanted my children to grow up strong and healthy, and they did.”

Joan originally joined Juniper 18 years ago for their social outings and loved her time so much that she put her name down for a Juniper Residential Aged Care Home.

“I am the happiest I have ever been, I love where I live, and I am surrounded by great friends and family.”
Randeep Kaur, Juniper Chef recently returned to work after becoming a mother and says her biggest achievement in life is becoming a chef in Australia.

“I had a baby girl nine months ago and I named her Asees which means blessing. Juniper is also my blessing, they got me to where I am today,” Randeep said.

“I came to Australia in 2015 and started at Juniper in 2019 and they helped me complete all my chef training. I have learned so much, I am so grateful.”

Randeep was inspired to become a chef because she loved seeing how happy her family and friends were back home in India when her mother used to cook for them.

“My mother was always in the kitchen cooking because everyone loved her food, I wanted to be just like her. She was my inspiration, and now that I have a daughter I am following in her footsteps,” Randeep said.

“There has been a lot of change since I first started working as a Chef at Juniper. Our team is bigger, the menu includes a lot more options and everything is of the highest quality.”

Randeep’s favourite piece of life advice is to enjoy your life, you don’t know when it is your last day.