In one way or another, our lives have changed over the past several months due to the coronavirus, commonly referred to as COVID-19. What started out as reports from across the globe, quickly started affecting the United States. As the pandemic began to take hold, SALMON started limiting the number of Residents in our dining rooms and cafés. However, as more information started to develop about the virus, the dining teams at SALMON could only offer room service or grab-and-go at our cafés.
During a weekly phone call with all the culinary directors, we asked the question, imagine if you had to eat all your meals at the same restaurant every day? There was a silence on the other end of the line and then it happenedthe culinary teams creativity and caring nature started to shine. Immediately, the culinary department started to develop unique ways to make the dining experience for our Residents even more special.
We first began to take on the new challenge by enhancing our room tray packaging and writing encouraging notes to our Residents. New menu items were also added to offer more variety. Culinary directors consistently collaborated to see what new ideas were working and which ones were not. The directors established a process to be able to deliver the room trays to each Resident while serving hot, well-presented and delicious meals. Themed meals were also added to the menu in order to give Residents something to look forward to and add some excitement to their day. A Resident favoritewe even figured out how to safely deliver cocktail hour each week with a creative twist.
While watching the culinary staff diligently work, our other departments were also putting themselves on the front lines while caring for our Residents. All departments have been working together to make sure that our Residents are safe and happy in their homes.
In addition to ensuring our Residents were well taken care of, Matt Salmon approached wanted to guarantee that our staff members would receive hot meals during their shifts. The culinary teams have come up with delicious meals, while offering variety, for all staff members in each community. They put as much care and creativity into the staff meals as they did for our Residents meals.
While we are still dealing with this pandemic, the culinary team is collaborating to determine what the dining experience will look like when we return to a new normal. We are working together to ensure that the dining experience in the future is the best we have to offer, while ensuring safety. It is our pleasure to serve every single one of our Residents and we hope that during this pandemic the meals have been a silver lining to their days.
