A CHEF with a romantic streak has introduced candlelit dinners with soft music and good wine at a care home.

The â la carte dining evenings are one of the changes introduced by Barry man Gareth Matthews since he became head chef at Shire Hall Care Home in Cardiff.

His innovations, coupled with his culinary skills, which have already earned him huge plaudits, have put him in line for a prestigious Welsh Care Award.

Gareth, 37, of, Barry, has been shortlisted in the Catering in Care category.

After completing his training Gareth worked at numerous hotels in Britain and Spain but with three young children he found the long unsocial hours inconvenient.

Since joining the Shire Hall care home six years ago Gareth has won the Hallmark group's own top catering award three times. In 2009 he also won a bronze award in the Wales Care Awards.

He was nominated for this year’s competition by Shire Hall’s manager Karen Grapes, who said: "He has put on some amazing ‘fine dining’ evenings with three-course dinners for our residents and their relatives to enjoy.”

Gareth said that he decided to launch the dining evenings to ensure that the residents did not feel they were losing out on a normal social life.

“Obviously some cannot go out to restaurants and so I decided to create the same kind of scenario here, and the cinema is converted into a restaurant," he said.

"The residents and their relatives who can join them do appreciate it."

The care awards are organized by Care Forum Wales to recognize and reward excellence in the care sector, and will be presented at a glittering ceremony in City Hall, Cardiff, on Friday, October 24.