Executive Chef Norman Grant of Western Home Communities in Cedar
Falls, Iowa held our first monthly cooking competition. The opportunity
was available to all cooks at Western Home. We had 6 of our 27 cooks
sign up for the competition that was held in
the dining room at one of our Independent Living Facilities. The
cooks mandatory ingredients were 8 piece chicken, fresh pineapple, and red potatoes, with the entire pantry available for use. The time
limit was 45 minutes. The cooks showed off their
talent, creativity, and passion for what we do every day. The winning
dish came from Neil Sweet who has been a cook at Western Home since
2009. Neil's creation was Chicken Afritada, this Filipino dish left us
all wanting more. The flavors were spot on and
the presentation was that of an experienced chef. Second place went to
Kinese Vanarsdale, who has recently blessed us with her talents at
Western Home. Kinese gave us some mouth watering unbreaded fried
chicken. Brandy Berky came in third with some amazing
pineapple barbeque grilled chicken. The winning dish will be a feature
on this weeks Sunday Brunch buffet for all the residents to enjoy.
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| Chicken Afritada |
The purpose of the competition is to encourage friendly competition
and creativity within our staff. At Western Home we currently have 13
dining rooms we serve food in and often times this leaves our cooks
feeling left out, like they are all alone. Events
such as this will bring our team together, make us stronger, and enrich
the lives of the seniors we serve.
Randy Husted
General Manager of Dining Services
Western Home Communities