Sun Health Senior Living dining options reflect the latest culinary trends

By Stephanie Conner

Fresh. Healthy. Never boring. That’s what Sun Health Senior Living residents can expect of their dining options.

Keeping pace with the latest culinary trends is a top goal for Sun Health System Executive Chef Tom Smith, who oversees and supports all five kitchens in Sun Health Senior Living’s three communities. In October, Chef Tom completed a yearlong culinary enrichment and innovation program sponsored by the Culinary Institute of America and Hormel Foods. He was the first chef from Sun Health Senior Living to participate in the program.

Chef Tom, who has been with Sun Health for more than 10 years, says seniors’ tastes and dining expectations have been evolving over the years — alongside foodies of all ages.

Smart Diners, Healthy Options

“Today’s diners are more informed than they used to be,” Chef Tom says. They are knowledgeable about food and nutrition, and they want to know what’s in their food.”

For example, they want to know where the vegetables come from. Farm-to-table dining is a trend that transcends generations.

“Local sourcing is really big,” Chef Tom notes. “Residents absolutely appreciate that.”

In addition, Sun Health Senior Living residents have expressed interest in free-range chicken, cage-free eggs, non-GMO foods and sustainable seafood. Chef Tom and his chefs also respect special diets, such as gluten-free or vegetarian diets, and make sure they take special dietary needs into account.

Communication is key, too, Chef Tom says.

“The residents told me to stop putting fancy names on the menus,” he recalls. “They said, ‘Just tell us what it is.’” He has taken that to heart and works to make sure residents know what they’re getting when they order their food.

The newly retired generation has a sophisticated yet straightforward palate, he says.

“This generation wants healthy alternatives. They want fresh food,” he says. “They don’t want food that’s bathed in sauce or overcooked.”

And, he says, they want that fresher food in smaller portions.

To align with residents’ interest in health, Sun Health intends to take advantage of a Morrison Community Living technology to manage nutritional data and portion information, empowering residents to make educated decisions around their food.

Listening and Evolving

Residents were recently treated to two celebrity chef visits, in conjunction with Morrison Community Living. Grandview Terrace residents enjoyed a live cooking demonstration from Chef Jehangir Mehta, a renowned restaurateur and Iron Chef competitor. Meanwhile, Chef Fabio Viviani, a restaurateur and Top Chef fan favorite, visited all three communities, doing pasta demos and talking about health.

“Our residents get to learn and see what’s out there,” Chef Tom says. A discussion around Himalayan pink salt with Chef Fabio sparked the residents’ interest, so Sun Health ordered pink salt for the tables.

Chef Tom and his chefs regularly go into the dining rooms at the three Sun Health Senior Living communities. They talk with residents and listen to what they want. As Sun Health works to stay ahead of the food curve, Chef Tom thinks about his own parents.

“If my mom and dad were to move into a community like this, I would want them to feel like they’re on vacation every day,” he says. “All of our chefs and cooks do this for the residents. We try to stay on top of everything. … We’re evolving to be better all the time.”