Trillium Woods’ Weekly Menus Expand With Exciting New Options
Flatbreads, sushi, sandwiches, tacos prove popular with residents
Fancy some sushi for dinner? Perhaps grilled salmon with herb butter and gribiche sauce? How about something light, but elevated, like a turkey sandwich with brie, apple slices, Dijon mustard, and red currant compote? Does a yeasty beer-flavored flatbread with pepperoni and sausage get your mouth watering? Or maybe you’re more of a steak and baked potato kind of person. Either way, if you’re a resident of Trillium Woods, there’s no need to make reservations in town to enjoy any of these meals. You can just head to the senior living lifeplan community’s dining room and choose whatever tempts you from the always-changing 29-item menu.
“Our main goal is to offer food that the residents will love, but we also want them to be proud of the quality of dining that Trillium Woods enjoys,” explains Food and Beverage Director Andrew Hall. “An invitation to dine at the community should be — and is — an exciting prospect for family and friends.”
Independence Is the Difference
Unlike most local senior living communities, which rely on a third-party food service to cook and serve all meals, the Trillium Woods food and beverage program is entirely in-house.
“Being in-house allows us to source our ingredients directly,” Hall explains. “We get the freshest local produce and source our meat, seafood, and cheese from the same distributors that supply the best restaurants in Minneapolis. We’ve also been working closely with Johnson Brothers to upgrade our wine list and we can’t wait to introduce our residents to the delicious vintages we’ve chosen to pair with our food.”
Without third-party intervention or bureaucracy, Hall’s team can be incredibly flexible and responsive, adjusting recipes for personal preferences and dietary needs. “We at Trillium Woods hold ourselves to an extremely high standard,” he explains. “We have a full-time Dietician on staff who can meet with residents one-on-one to advise on new and changing dietary needs. In addition, the chefs provide gluten-free, low-sodium, dairy-free, vegetarian, and heart-healthy options on all of our menus.”
Hall’s team also works directly with the community’s Food and Beverage Committee to keep track of residents’ changing tastes. “We meet face-to-face every month and they give us the feedback they’ve gotten from their fellow residents about food, menus, service, everything,” he says. “Those opinions, wishes, and concerns, are invaluable, helping us constantly improve and keep up with our diners’ desires. We’ve recently added more appetizers, sandwiches, tacos, and flatbreads as a direct result of resident requests.”
Expanded Menu
These new additions are all part of an expanded 29-item menu that Chef Rob Silkey updates each week. Now mixed in with perennial favorites are a weekly sushi dish, flatbread choices, elevated sandwiches, a taco option, seasonal fare, and a few surprises, too.
For some of the more adventurous diners, expanding their palates is the best part of dining at Trillium Woods. “I love coming down and finding out what’s on the menu each week,” says one resident foodie. “Sometimes I have to Google an ingredient or preparation that’s new to me — but it always turns out to be delicious.”
An Exceptional Team, Too
“We have a dream team here at Trillium Woods,” says Hall. “Working under Executive Chef Jon Nolden is Rob Silkey, who just competed as a finalist for LCS’s Chef of the Year for the second year in a row. Rob is still growing and honing his skills as an upcoming chef and has recently entered a mentorship program with Chef Hagop from The Clare, an LCS community in downtown Chicago. Meanwhile, Ana Soczynski routinely creates desserts worthy of any fine patisserie and her fresh breads are divine.”
The total dining experience is more than just food, and Trillium Woods’ talented chefs are complemented by dedicated, enthusiastic, and gracious servers.
“Our former lead cook, Rolando Canales showed such skill in customer service, that we’ve promoted him to Restaurant Manager,” says Hall. “Investing in excellence is an important part of ensuring that we are exemplary every day.”
