28.04.2025

White Oaks appoints Head of Culinary to enhance specialist food offer and expertise

White Oaks, the senior living division of Compass Group UK & Ireland, has appointed Darren Neal as Head of Culinary.

As part of his remit, Darren will manage the creation and implementation of all menus across the White Oaks estate. This is alongside the training of site teams to ensure consistent high standards in the delivery of the menus and expansion of quality food concepts that meet a range of needs, including specialist IDDSI (International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative) meals.

Darren joins White Oaks from the Healthcare sector of Caterplus, where he worked for the last eight years, overseeing food and culinary development within residential care homes, independent living, homeless centres and retail hospitals. With 36 years of experience in the catering industry, Darren brings a wealth of knowledge from a range of sectors, including senior living but also from across B&I, restaurants, hotels and schools.

This appointment comes as White Oaks recently relaunched, offering an approach that spans catering and facilities management for residential and nursing homes through to assisted living and retirement living. In each area, the team creates food and service offers that are developed to meet the specific meal requirements of residents and tenants, offering quality, choice and flexibility throughout the day in a home from home environment.

 

Darren will also lead on the training and development of other chefs and culinary colleagues within the business, including developing new training courses and sessions which will be delivered alongside other senior culinary team members and dietitians.

Darren Neal, Head of Culinary at White Oaks said: “I’m thrilled to be joining White Oaks at such an exciting time for the business. I will be focussing on supporting our growth agenda, through compliance and resident safety, as well as new menu innovation. I am excited to be helping invest in and develop the talent of the future for the business and wider industry. We’ve got lots of great plans that I’m looking forward to progressing.”  

Laura Tighe, Business Director, White Oaks said: “We’re pleased to welcome Darren to our White Oaks team. He brings solid experience in the sector, along with passion and enthusiasm that will help to move our offer forward and deliver even higher levels of excellence as we work to create meaningful dining experiences.”