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Pink lemonade cotton sweet in an appetizer? Funyuns in a dessert? If this seems like one thing out of an episode of a sure cooking competitors present to you, you are not too far off.
Concordia Life Plan Community, 7707 W Britton Road, takes protecting meals enjoyable and enhancing senior well being severely. The retirement neighborhood hosted a cooking competitors that includes chef Darin Leonardson, who’s a culinary adviser on the heart, and superstar chef Stephan Baity, who has competed on The Food Network a number of instances.
“People get so caught up in the hype of me and TV, doing the Olympics and just all of the other great accolades I have in my career, but they don’t realize that my first job for nine years out of culinary school was working in a [retirement community] like this. It was literally how I cut my teeth,” Baity mentioned. “This meant so much. This is personal.”
Surprise substances, suprisingly scrumptious outcomes
The two cooks competed in two rounds of competitors, making appetizers with cheese, mushrooms and pink lemonade cotton sweet and desserts that includes combined berries, pound cake and Funyuns.
“That was a hard one, I didn’t see that coming,” Baity mentioned of the dessert spherical whammy.
Leonardson echoed his lament calling onion and berries a “weird combination.”
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Still, each cooks rose to the event, turning out unimaginable and creative dishes in every spherical. In the top, Baity pulled off the win by only one level.
“To come right underneath a super talented person like that, makes me happy and proud,” Leonardson mentioned.
Why did Concordia host a Chef Face-Off?
Hosting a cooking competitors between their culinary adviser and a celeb chef is not one thing you are prone to see occurring at most retirement communities. But then most retirement communities in all probability haven’t got government administrators keen to decorate up like Guy Fieri to emcee the competitors both.
“Concordia is all about the residents — what is it that they want, what is it they desire — they’re always wanting innovation,” Leonardson mentioned.
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The Chef Face-Off allowed the middle to deliver some one-of-a-kind leisure to residents whereas highlighting straightforward, inventive and flavorful meals and cooking choices.
Chefs used burners and a particular good oven referred to as the Brava that Concordia is about to start out providing residents to permit higher freedom and independence in cooking for themselves.
Healthy consuming for senior residents
Leonardson mentioned seniors are usually keen to strive new issues, however there are some changes that may be made to assist accommodate well being necessities and the way in which style buds change as we age.
Finishing a meal with a sprinkling of sea salt as an alternative of including salt to the whole dish can scale back the quantity of salt used general. And specializing in different taste profiles reminiscent of bitter, bitter, spicy or attempting taste combos could improve enchantment, he mentioned.
Christopher Coleman, Concordia’s wellness coordinator, mentioned that for senior residents, it is usually necessary to take a look at the entire image and the way food plan integrates into an general wholesome way of life. For many seniors the aim is to take care of and even construct muscle and fueling their our bodies correctly is a key a part of the equation.
“I want you to feel empowered. I want you to feel energetic. Having people to care about what they put in their bodies directly correlates to the performance,” Coleman said.
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A key part of consuming the right diet comes down to having access to the right foods. Concordia works to address these kinds of issues through its dining program and Leonardson’s partnership with the staff in charge of the dining program looks to overcome gaps in nutrition common for many aging adults.
“When you’re getting older, there’s a lot of nutrients and vitamins and things like that that you’re going to be missing out on just from the simple fact that your diet is limited,” Coleman said. “You start to just do what you’re used to or you eat out — like some people eat out a lot when they don’t live in a community like this — and so you’re really not getting a variety of nutrients, and it’s not nutrient dense; they’re not functional foods.”
Leonardson said senior living overall is a space that needs more chefs, especially as baby boomers age into retirement communities.
“It’s an trade that is rising with child boomers, they want inventive skills. We want people who find themselves inventive with meals. This trade wants to vary much more,” he mentioned.
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