A CHEF who cooked for both President-elect Joe Biden and previous president Barack Obama is preparing a Thanksgiving feast for care home residents.

Sharon Johnson, 52, was manager at Maggiano’s restaurant in Washington DC before she returned from the USA to her native North-West.

Now the head chef at Redwalls Nursing Home, in Sandiway, near Northwich, she has this week been busy with residents preparing food for the American celebration on Thursday (November 26).

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Ms Johnson said: "Seeing the television reports about Joe Biden’s election victory brought back memories of his visits to my restaurant in the autumn of 2016.

"He came in and sat in the main dining room with his family.

"I had to move him to a private area because he was being harassed by the general public.

"He had an Italian family style meal consisting of salad, lasagne, Bolognese and chicken parmesan.

"Because his family had been disturbed I gave him a mini sampler dessert on the house with New York cheese cake, Tiramisu and apple crostata.

"He was very appreciative of the service and said the food was ‘awesome’."

Northwich Guardian:

Sharon Johnson, seen here in the kitchen of Maggiano's restaurant in Washington DC, where she was General Manager.

President Obama had visited the restaurant with his daughter in June of the same year to celebrate her graduation from middle school.

Ms Johnson, who ran restaurants in the USA for 25 years, said: "Secret Service closed down the whole street.

"They booked it under a false name and, an hour before, agents came in and said, ‘your guest tonight will be the president of the United States’."

As well as hosting visits from famous politicians, she also served food to celebrities including former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson.

Having worked at Redwalls for more than three years, she said she loved being part of the team – 'more than just the chef' – and enjoyed getting to know the residents and finding out what food they liked.

Northwich Guardian:

The care home residents are being treated to a Presidential standard Thanksgiving feast.

"Residents have been helping me make the stuffing which will go with the turkey I’ll be cooking," she said.

TJ Adamson, manager of the Kingsley Healthcare-run home, said: "Sharon’s amazing, the residents love her.

"Organising events like our Thanksgiving celeb ration really help to life spirits during this time of lockdown."