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02 Dec
A West Cork caterer who set up her company during lockdown is planning to spend Christmas day giving out free traditional dinners who elderly, isolated and disadvantaged people in the local area. Pema Beshoff, who comes from a long line of chefs and trained in the Ballymaloe Cookery School, decided to start her catering company at the start of lockdown after the restaurant she worked in closed. The 35-year-old says that the local support since she started catering for events and offering order and collect meals at weekends with her company Stacks Garden Catering has been immense, and she wanted to find a way to give back. "I cannot bear the thought that people may be having this Christmas along after the hard year we have all endured again, everyone deserves to have a nice warm meal to look forward to," she said. Last year Pema cooked Christmas dinner for fifteen elderly and isolated people in the area, who were mainly nominated by neighbours or their own children and families who couldn't be there with them because of Covid restrictions. "It makes the world of difference to someone and I had a wonderful Christmas day chatting to everyone when I was there to drop their dinners off," Pema said. "There was one man living on his own who actually didn't know how to work his own oven and his neighbour had nominated in, I ended up showing him how to work it and talked him through some things he could cook," she added. She wants to emphasise that people who are struggling financially in the area should also get in touch, "please do not be shy to contact me, it is completely confidential," she said. "Places are limited as I can only make so many meals but I will do my best to deliver and cater to as many people as I possibly can," she said. If you want to nominate someone in the area who is isolated or struggling that could do with having a lovely dinner delivered to them do not hesitate to get in touch with Pema through her Facebook page. If you want to donate (Pema says that a lot of "Irish mammies' chase her down wanting to chip in) she says that you should make a donation towards the Beara Calendar which sponsors the St.Joseph Community Hospital in Castletownbere and Cancer connect. Share your Snow-pinions below, or click here. .