 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
Please scroll down for more
Fine Dining
Senior living communities adjust mealtime approach to liven up dinner time
Longmont Times-Call/Senior Expo
by Jeff Abbott
Jeff Abbott
There's a revolution taking place in senior living. From décor to landscape to dining services, senior living communities are refining their business approach, expanding services and reinventing themselves in preparation for the next aging generation, baby boomers.
To attract new and younger clients, food is fast becoming a differentiator. Today, a critical feature in convincing someone to move into a senior community is the quality of the onsite dining. As a result, many senior living communities are improving the ambience of their everyday dining experience, removing the institutional aspect, and experimenting with different foods and delivery styles. These new twists include moving away from a traditional cafeteria style to a restaurant-style approach. Other nuances include the addition of events like theme dinners, wine tastings, high teas and cooking demonstrations.
Not only do these seniors want and expect traditional formal dining but they also want choices like casual onsite eateries, informal buffet dining, cafeterias, bistros, coffee shops and grab-and-go stands that complement the central dining room.
Each generation's preferences, dislikes and expectations are shaped by the lives they've lived and the material comforts they're accustomed to. Baby boomers present unique challenges and opportunities for the aging services industry. For example, upcoming seniors may have more adventurous pallets, with a taste for ethnic options, unusual ingredients and exotic cooking styles. Senior living communities should adjust their menus accordingly.
Older seniors will still want traditional comfort foods while younger seniors may be interested in choices reflective of the broader restaurant style. While most menus retain the traditional comfort foods — meatloaf and mashers — there is room for a creative gourmet twist on the classic comfort foods, such as using a Fat Tire Ale tempura with your basic fish and chips or perhaps a roasted red tomato and red wine sauce with mom's Sunday meatloaf.
Many younger seniors have jumped on the health conscious wagon too. We're seeing more requests for food that's baked, not fried. Additionally, dining services should pay attention to vegetarians and vegan diets, especially in health conscious Boulder County.
At the same time, food preparation for the elderly presents dietary, medical, and nutritional challenges that can not be ignored. Coupled with decreased mobility and motor skill difficulties — our sense of taste, ability to chew, smell and sight will diminish with age — chefs working with the elderly must pay close attention to maintaining safety as well.
This shift in senior dining desires has been noticed by the food industry. In fact, culinary schools are adding specific senior culinary classes and large food service contract companies provide web-based information and regional seminars to keep staff abreast of trends. Content in Nation's Restaurant News and Food Management reflects this shift also.
If you think of it, boomers received inspiration from the Galloping Gourmet, Graham Kerr, a kind of playboy/chef, and Julia Child, a cooking legend. One look at the tube today reveals the cultural explosion and interest in food for everyone.
Iron Chef, Food 911, Emeril Live, 30 Minute Meals, and Good Eats are wildly popular television shows. In fact, guys like Emeril Lagasse have attained rock star status for good reason — they make eating a fun, social activity.
And that's the point. The shift in dining interests, habits and trends supports the desire of all of us, including seniors, to enjoy meals. The old myth that because seniors have somewhat diminished senses they have less interest in food is simply false.
Everyday, I hear loud and clear from seniors in our community that they enjoy variety and options.
Jeff Abbott previously worked as the Executive Chef at Balfour Retirement Community in Louisville.