While working as an assistant chef at an exclusive resort in Palm Beach, Fla., Charles Heinrich never thought he would be using his culinary talents at an area retirement center.

Heinrich is the essential ingredient in Laurel View Village’s dining plan, which combines therapeutic diets, instructional food service, nutritional guidelines and culinary delights.

When Robert Miller, director of dining services at the Davidsville facility, conceived the idea of offering Laurel View’s residents an improved meal plan, he wondered where he would find a chef willing to work in a retirement community.

“I ran an ad to see what was out there,” Miller said. “I thought it was too good to be true that a chef from a high-class resort had similar dreams and aspirations.”

Heinrich’s wife, who is from Windber, saw the ad and showed it to her husband. Heinrich, a Portage native, had moved from the area because he couldn’t find work in his field.

“I flew in to see the facility, and Rob presented his challenge – take all I’ve learned and introduce something new,” Heinrich said. “Now, I’m close to my family and I get to do what I love to do.”

Heinrich has gone from working on cruise ships and at high-class hotels where he has served celebrities such as Hillary Clinton and Michael Jackson to returning to his home and family to serve as Laurel View’s executive chef.

Miller has had an upscale menu at Laurel View for about six years, but he has stepped it up a few notches the past two years.

He said with the impending retirement of a generation of baby boomers who want more choices, the nursing-home industry had to change.

“There are no more trays,” Miller said. “You can’t put a plate down and say, ‘Here’s lunch.’ You have to have options besides meat and potatoes.”

Heinrich’s job is to mix institutional with culinary while adding a pinch of presentation and showmanship.

“I tell them (staff), ‘If you wouldn’t eat it, don’t feed it to the residents,’ ” Heinrich said.

Laurel View residents are served in dining rooms featuring linen tablecloths and napkins, sparkling silverware and china, floral centerpieces and wait staff dressed in black-and-white tuxedo-style uniforms.

Residents gather in the lobby, where their names are taken for seating preferences.

“They get to sit with friends at tables for four,” Miller said. “They don’t have to go out to eat, we bring it in.”

Their food choices, which are presented on a restaurant-style menu, include shrimp, Delmonico steaks, orange roughy and chicken primavera.

Homemade soups are made fresh daily, and all baked goods – from breads to cakes – are made in Laurel View’s in-house bakery.

Fresh, not frozen, meat is used, and fresh fruits and vegetables are used when available.

“It’s the future of retirement communities,” Heinrich said. “I trained in Florida and have read articles, and institutional food is no more.

We’re on the cutting edge for this area.”

If a resident has a taste for something not on the menu, a list of sandwiches is available. If someone wants eggs for dinner, they can have eggs, Heinrich said. If they want to eat pizza every day for four weeks, they eat pizza.

“This is their home,” Heinrich said. “We don’t cook for ourselves.”

Miller and Heinrich also don’t insist that residents eat at set times.

Breakfast is served from 7 to 9, lunch is served from 11:30 to 1 and dinner is served from 4 to 6.

“We make a nice blend,” Miller said of his work relationship with Heinrich. “We make changes slowly. Charles trains the rest of the culinary staff, teaching them how to add flavor and flair.”

Laurel View’s dining program is all about individual attention. There are about 10 breakfast cereals available, but if a resident prefers a cereal that is not offered on the menu, a staff member will go to a store and buy it, Heinrich said.

“It’s the simple, little things that show them they’re special,” Miller said. “We put the residents first. If we add something special, it makes it more pleasant for them and makes life more interesting. Food is the heartbeat of the community.”

Home-style meals such as meat loaf and mashed potatoes and Southern fried chicken are offered, and residents may submit their own recipes for the menu.

Residents who are on strict diets, such as low-salt or low-fat, or who have food allergies receive a computerized meal ticket.

“It gives them options of what they can have on the menu,” Miller explained. “For those who aren’t able to make a choice, we make it for them.”

When a resident returns from a hospital stay or a doctor’s visit, a dietitian reviews his or her food choices to make sure they are following their doctor’s orders.

Three entrees are offered every day, and the selection of side dishes is changed every third day.

For those not able to eat a full serving, smaller portions are available.

“We want to make it homey and address their needs,” Heinrich said.

Heinrich also has had special dining experiences. He set up a steak-house night where select cuts of beef, such as filet mignon or T-bone steaks, were grilled to perfection. Another special was a luau, complete with roasted pig. And a made-to-order dessert bar was the talk of Laurel View for weeks.

Heinrich and his staff try to circulate through the dining room during mealtimes so residents can talk to them about their likes and dislikes.

For the most part, Laurel View’s residents are happy with the change.

Comments range from, “We get darn good food” to “You treat us like kings and queens.”

“I think we’re a step ahead of the industry,” Miller said. “In western Pennsylvania, this is unheard of.

“But, a big part of picking a retirement community is the food.”

Representatives from other retirement communities have found Laurel View dining setup appealing.

“They wonder how we do what we do,” Miller said. “It’s nice to be a premiere facility in the area. It can be done, and often it’s what the next generation wants.”



Ruth Rice can be reached at 532-5052 or rrice@tribdem.com.