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Dishing on dining services

As we celebrate National Nutrition Month in March, we’re putting the spotlight on a few members of our dining services team who work tirelessly to provide our residents with nutritious and delicious meals every day.

Keith Brown, dining services director
Keith has worked as the dining services director for three years and is responsible for anything and everything related to food and nutrition on campus. By working with residents and listening to their feedback, Keith plans menus based on their likes and wants.

“It’s a continuous job as likes and wants change as we have new residents move in. My goal is to always produce food that our residents and guests can enjoy … we also make sure that our menu offerings are of a wide variety,” said Keith.

A few dishes that residents continue to rave about are the homemade fried chicken, spaghetti and meatballs, and meatloaf.

“Our steak dinners are by far the most popular event we do,” Keith said.

But Keith doesn’t make these dishes alone.

“I want to thank my awesome staff. A lot of us have worked together for a while now and have built great relationships. I appreciate their willingness to always build off our mistakes and utilize our strengths to make this a better place. I appreciate the ideas they give in all aspects of our department, from new recipe ideas to new ways of completing various tasks. Without them, it would be much more of a struggle and they deserve all the recognition.”

Pam Bolte, dining services supervisor
In her role as dining services supervisor for the past year, Pam is responsible for ordering the food for the menu, keeping the kitchen running smoothly, and getting room tray tickets ready for residents to fill out.

From Pam’s perspective, some of the favorite meals on campus are the beef taco salad, chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes and the baked potato bar.

“We work very hard every day to serve top quality meals to the residents and do as much homemade and from scratch as we can,” Pam said.

Marcia Ptacek, RDN LD
For the past two years, Marcia has made weekly visits to our community as a consultant dietitian where she assesses and monitors the nutritional needs of residents, assists in developing menus, completes sanitation and safety inspections, educates staff and assists the dining services director in maintaining compliance with all state and federal guidelines.

While her career spans more than 30 years, she has spent the past 11 years providing consulting services at several long-term care and assisted living communities throughout the state.

“My goal first and foremost is to meet the residents’ nutritional needs and to always listen to the resident’s voice,” said Marcia.

From a nutritional standpoint, Marcia advises that, “the best diet includes variety and moderations and what is sustainable for the long term. You must be mindful of your body and decide what lifestyle of eating provides the best quality of life.”

Do you have feedback for the dining services team? Share it!

“We appreciate all the feedback, good and bad. With the information we get, we truly take it to heart and make decisions based off the input. We are always learning and building off our strengths and weaknesses to make the experience better for anyone who eats in our dining rooms,” said Keith.

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