The secret to keeping residents engaged in the dining experience is to invigorate and empower your chefs. Here are a few ways that communities around the country are energizing their culinary team:
- Holding Food Network-influenced chef competitions where dueling culinarians must use offbeat ingredients or face other tough challenges
- Asking chefs to conduct cooking demonstrations, and letting residents taste the results
- Adding chef recipes, interviews and demos to their website or newsletter
- Sending cooking staff to culinary training or bringing noted chefs in to share their expertise
- Having chefs cook dishes, such as omelets or stir fries, out in the dining room
- Planning unusual-themed events with menus that go beyond the typical holiday brunch
- Changing the menu often — and allowing residents input
- Compiling a cookbook of favorite in-house recipes
- Celebrating the farm-to-table movement with fresh, locally sourced ingredients
- Working creatively with dietary restrictions to offer healthy food with a gourmet flair
How is your community keeping things fresh in the kitchen? Let me know at wlangley@varsitybranding.com.
