There was a bloody mess at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital: a couple of unsuspecting pumpkins got stabbed in the head.

The gory scene was wrought by the hands of chef Sivakumar Senthamaraikannan.

“Everybody at Hallowe’en time does something to match the theme,” he said of his festive display in the hospital cafeteria.

“The pumpkin is of course popular at this time, so I planned to make a pumpkin curry and do some pumpkin carving.”

He joined the hospital’s dietary department almost two years ago. This was the first time he’d actually carved a pumpkin.

“As part of a healthy diet, we serve pumpkin as a starch,” he said. “I just took a couple of pumpkins from there. I used to work as a pastry chef and made real pumpkin pie. In the hospital, we make pumpkin muffins.”

Originally from Tamilnadu in India, he moved to the island ten years ago.

He said that while Hallowe’en is known in the South Asian country, they don’t celebrate it.

The traditions really came to his attention after working in Dubai, where parents adapted it for their children. Later, working on cruise ships, he followed the American tradition.

Now he celebrates with his six-year-old daughter Samiya, who he takes trick or treating every year.

“Here they really celebrate Hallowe’en,” he said.

“My daughter said, ‘Daddy, we need to do some pumpkin carving’. Of course I have to make my child happy.”

The sharp teeth, blood and bulging eyeballs in his cafeteria creation are all borrowed from spooky scenes.

Passers-by have been impressed with his efforts.

“They said I did a scary and excellent job. They’re happy to see something different,” he said. “I applied the same skill that I use for watermelon carving to the pumpkin.

Doing it on the spot, that skill helped me to bring the finishing touches. It’s a God-given gift. I got some practice in culinary school, but I didn’t do any special class for carving.”

He turned to Google for inspiration before his imagination took over.

“When I began carving, if something came to my mind, I did it,” he said.

A classic skeleton face is missing an eye; he created eyeballs using olives. Food colouring and cotton helped him to get the right effect.

“I wanted different characters,” he said. “I created the skeleton with one eyeball missing. There is blood coming from his eye.

“The other one I did, it looks like a worm is coming from his nose.”

Since taking the role at the hospital, Mr Senthamaraikannan has enjoyed updating the menu.

Jerk chicken, grilled salmon with a mango salsa, home-made pizzas and “of course” chicken tikka masala, all feature on the four-cycle menu.

“We changed the menu and we’ve had good feedback,” said the chef who has worked in the kitchens of Beau Rivage, Mid Ocean Club and Taste 141.

He began his training at the Indian Institute of Hotel Management and Culinary Arts before landing a job at Le Royal Meridian Beach Resort, a five-star hotel in Dubai.

He said he plans to use festive treatments he’s seen in hotels at the hospital for holidays to come.

Mr Senthamaraikannan said he has enjoyed his time in the role, particularly training the Bermuda College’s culinary students.

“I’m willing to teach them any skills I have. Whenever I have the chance, I try to teach the new generation, the future chefs,” he said.