A Retirement Resources Blog for Seniors and Retirees – HOME

Food is food. Cooking is cooking. This simple philosophy is demonstrated by Chris Paulsen, Wesley Homes Lea Hill’s new executive chef, every day with an emphasis on quality with every meal.

Chris is very passionate about food. He has brought that passion to the food service industry for 36 years. In his career, Chris has worked for restaurants, large hotels, retailers and hospitals. He started his journey as a dishwasher when he was in high school in New Jersey; then he bused tables and finally made his way into the kitchen.

His next stop was as a cook in the U.S. Coast Guard, which is how Chris was introduced to the Pacific Northwest in 1981. After leaving the Coast Guard, Chris took his passion for food and his desire to further his culinary education to the Culinary School of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, New York. Once Chris completed his training at CIA, he came back to his new-found home in the Puget Sound area, and he’s never left.

Chris loves working in the Pacific Northwest and at Wesley Homes Lea Hill because both the position and the community are family-friendly, which means he can spend more quality time with his family. You may think that Chris, as an executive chef, naturally cooks at home. On the contrary – his wife and 15-year-old daughter do most of the cooking at their home. However, when Chris does prepare meals at home, he leans in the direction of his personal favorite – Asian/Pacific Rim cuisine.

“The community is very picturesque with Eby Lodge, the Village Homes and Brownstones,” said Chris. “Who wouldn’t want to work at such a beautiful and friendly place?”

Creating great food for the residents is another one of Chris’ rewards. He and his Culinary Services team love serving all of the residents of Wesley Homes Lea Hill.

Just because each residential accommodation has a kitchen doesn’t mean the independent living residents don’t get to experience the fantastic dishes that Chris and the Culinary Services team create. Chris estimates that all of the residents eat at least one meal a day in one of the two Wesley Homes Lea Hill dining rooms. This translates to approximately 400 to 500 meals served a day.

Another new member of the Culinary Services team and Chris’ co-worker is Director of Dining Services Abby Adams. Abby manages the front of the house, making sure everyone is served quickly and professionally. She is responsible for the service and presentation when residents come to meals in the three dining rooms at Lea Hill.

Sample some of Chris’ cuisine and see Abby’s beautiful presentation at Wesley Homes Lea Hill’s Harvest Moon Open House on Sunday, October 7th from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. in Auburn. They’d love for you to stop by and say hello.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 4th, 2012 at 8:22 am and is filed under General Info, Resident info, Wesley News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.