There is good news on the horizon for senior living facilities.
As we mentioned in a previous blog, the influx of Baby Boomers will create a massive rise in those needing senior living care. That will translate into high occupancy rates – if a facility’s kitchen can live up to showpiece-level expectations.
Boomers are changing how a facility’s kitchen is viewed, including expectations for fresh food, cooked to order and having different food options available to them.
Major Trend No. 1: Fresh Food, Cooked to Order
Compared to previous generations, Boomers tend to be more educated, better traveled and pickier with their dining expectations.
Boomers want high-quality ingredients and expect each meal to be an experience.
It’s becoming more common for senior living operations to move away from traditional programs and toward “chef-developed menus executed by well-trained culinary teams in kitchens designed for a la minute cooking. ”
When touring the facility, the dining experience will be noticed – for better or worse.
Major Trend No. 2: Demand for Different Options
The days of serving the same meals over and over are gone. Instead, Boomers want variety in their food options – whether that’s vegetarian items, more ethnic dishes or something they’ve never tried before.
“We no longer have menus with 30 to 40 items on it that cycle in and out and never change,” said one national director of dining services for a chain of senior living facilities. “Rather, we offer a combination of seasonal items that rotate.”
One director of business development for a senior living facility said it’s “important to us to have our professional chefs offer a lot of different choices and be as flexible as possible.”
Finding Versatile Equipment that Can Meet Expectations
While Boomers can boost occupancy rates, it’s important that your kitchen equipment is able to meet their high expectations.
A braising pan, also known as a tilt skillet, is a versatile piece of equipment that can help busy kitchens generate consistent and repeatable results. In fact, they are the most flexible equipment for any type of kitchen.
They provide that flexibility in food options because they can braise, roast, boil, simmer, steam, poach or sauté – meaning you can employ any cooking technique and use it as a back-up in place of other cooking equipment in a moment’s notice.
For example, you roast some chicken marsala one day and sauté a mixed vegetable medley the next – keeping delighted seniors wondering what you’ll cook up next.
A Braising Pan’s High-Capacity Helps You Keep Up
It’s a good problem for a facility to have: How do we prepare food for all these residents?
One 30-gallon braising pan can produce up to 350 meals per hour, which greatly reduces the preparation time kitchen staff must extend to produce large batches of food.
By having the infrastructure for excellent, diverse food options on a large scale, you can create a showpiece kitchen.
Times Are Changing. Are You?
Mealtime is not just about food anymore. For Boomers, facilities should create meals that become anticipated occasions – with the kind of fresh ingredients, new dishes, and high-quality taste that makes them feel valued.
Unified Brands understands it can be hard to figure out the best equipment option for your senior living facility. However, a braising pan helps you serve diverse menu options on a large scale, creating memorable meals that keep residents happy and generate major buzz for your facility.
To learn more about braising pans and how they can help you energize the service aspect of your meal programs, contact one of Unified Brands’ health care experts, or visit our landing page.
