ADAPTING MENUS TO CHANGING RESIDENT PREFERENCES
to climb Mount Everest every time you go to service. It’s a way to distribute the work more evenly.”
• Go pro. In order to contain costs in a cus- tomized culinary environment, you need to hire and train at a higher level than in the past. “You can’t just hire a cook,” Keating said. “You need chefs who have restaurant experience, who are culinary grads. They have the mentality, the train- ing. I don’t want someone who used to be a car salesman. I want someone who has been in restaurants their whole life.” (Yes, you will pay more for that kind of experience, but Keating insists it will save you money in the long run.) Once a senior living community decides to step up into the world of restaurant-quality cuisine and service, interesting things start to happen. Some dining executives say a move in this direction has freed them to be more creative in their presentation. At FLIK Lifestyles, senior corporate ex-
ecutive chef Adam Grafton has become a fan of pop-up culinary experiences—micro- tasting events to bring a newfound sense of fun to the dining experience. “The element of surprise is much more
accepted in our communities today. Ten years ago, residents had to have the whole month planned out. Now they are more accepting of having some surprise, some spontaneity,” he said. “We might do a pop- up display in the afternoon, something as simple as avocado toast or a fun popcorn break in the hallway.” Sometimes fun comes in the form of
hydration. “I’ve got some watermelon and some fresh basil, that will be my aqua fresca today. It gives the kitchen folks a chance to be creative and it adds that element of surprise,” Grafton said. “It takes having an on-site team with a willingness to experiment. Maybe you do one of these a month, so it’s not over- whelming, but it adds an element of fun.” Once you’re over the idea that all cooking
has to happen in the kitchen, it becomes possible to take personalization down to the residence care level. Lutz has seen communities open successful mini-kitchens in memory care, as a way to bring fresher offerings to those who can’t make it to a din- ing room. All it takes is a mini-fridge and a high-volume convection oven. “We’ll teach the front-line staff some
basic things. Dietary aides can learn to do this,” he said. “Now you get those smells,
10 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE MAY/JUNE 2018
which is really important to stimulate ap- petite. Three times a day you have food being prepared and being served locally. If you just plate it in the kitchen and bring it to the residents, that kills choice and it kills quality. It’s hard to keep food hot and fresh. We want people to have choice at the point of service—and the aides often like to serve the residents. They want to be part of the process.” Pop-up stations? Mini-kitchens? Cooking
to order? It’s hard to imagine going this di- rection without adding substantially to the labor cost. Yet those who urge this approach say the numbers can work. First, cooking to order means less waste,
so you’re saving money up front. Then there are techniques for making it work cost-effectively. “It’s all in how you set it up in advance,”
Ader said. “You look at a kitchen operation and see how production flows. You maxi- mize your labor by doing the prep at the right time. You cross-utilize, making sure that the garlic, onions, pepper, rice can be used across the menu, and then you have those things ready on the line. That’s how you make it efficient. And the executive chef has to work through the recipes with the cooks. You don’t just hand them the recipe. You walk them through and show them how it’s done. That makes it more efficient and it also gives you the consistency that is so important to the operation.” Kitchen equipment factors in as well.
Krystopa designed a model for all Allegro communities to follow, one that lends itself to customized prep. “We build a standard- ized line, with a prototype that includes a gas range, a broiler, a conventional oven, and a hot holding cabinet that can be trans- ported to memory care,” he said. “We lose the steam table, the scoop-and-serve, and that enables us to cook it à la carte as the order comes in.” He’s also rearranged the kitchen workflow
in order to more effectively produce meals under the higher-end model of service. “You are not adding bodies. It has to do with multi- tasking the kitchen assistant. You add versa- tility within your labor structure to maximize what people do in the kitchen,” he said. “So when we introduced the salad bar, the front of house staff now introduces all those ingre- dients. Bartenders and servers are in charge of executing on that. It’s about using the staff you have effectively.”
All these strategies can help a senior living
community deliver a more personalized expe- rience, but there’s a lot more to current din- ing trends than just personalization. Residents want variety, freshness, local sourcing, and a range of other enhancements. Here’s how to deliver on those emerging culinary cravings:
Tips and tricks To meet the demand for fresh, local produce, Baxter-Magro said senior living leaders need to maintain close communications with their providers, including both large-scale distribu- tors and more locally-based purveyors who may have ties to local or regional producers. “When we ran a plant-based burger we had conversations very early on in order to have those ingredients available to us,” she said. “With senior living communities, the partnership is important, having that regu- lar communication so that we can under- stand how they are going to be refreshing the menus. Do they want to source new items locally? How will we set up the sup- plies for that? The sooner you can start planning it, the better we can line up those things and negotiate best costs.” Conversations with suppliers are key. At
the same time, there are in-house strategies a savvy chef can employ. • Finger foods. For residents who crave va- riety, Fernandez likes to whip up small, easily-held tidbits. These are especially helpful as a way to bring variety to mem- ory care, when some residents wander as they eat. “It’s the same meal everyone else is having but they can hold it in their hands. The food is formed into shapes that are easy to hold and it’s not too hot. We have a whole menu of foods that peo- ple can pick up, and we know beforehand which residents need this, so we make those meals especially for them,” he said.
• What’s growing? Lutz looks to seasonality as a way to keep meals both fresh and local. He’ll change up the menu every four to five weeks in order to achieve this. “Your purveyors need to let you know what is available and you build the menu around that,” he said. “You look for the items that aren’t moving well and you change those out first. Then you look at what is seasonal, and what is more attrac- tive in terms of pricing. Your purveyor’s hot sheet should tell you what’s a good bargain and then you shape the menu around those seasonal items.”
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