Today’s retirement communities offer an amazing dining experience including fresh, locally grown ingredients, diet and culture specific meals, executive chefs and even open kitchens and 24-hour room service. The focus is very much on you and your dining enjoyment.
But, as you get used to your new surroundings you may have a few questions about mealtimes and procedures. Here are a few common queries along with solutions that will make your dining experience as enjoyable as the food.
Who do I eat with?
Standing with a tray of food and looking around for a place to sit – a high school nightmare! Don’t worry – the marketing manager, in consultation with the food services manager and the maitre’d, has assigned you a table with congenial companions. Every effort has been made to match you with similar ages, interests, personalities and mealtime preferences.
What if I don’t want to eat then, or eat that?
Mealtimes may be strict, to accommodate two sittings, or more flexible within a ‘window’ of time; breakfasts may be buffet-style and eaten anytime before noon. When you made your rental, owning or life lease arrangements, a preferred mealtime would have been established as well. If you’d like to change the time, speak to the marketing manager and/or maitre’d, who will arrange another mealtime and table seating for you.
Flexible meal packages
You may also look into a flexible meal ‘package’, so that only dinners, for example, are eaten at a set mealtime, and the other meals are prepared by you in your suite.
What other menu choices are available?
There are always at least two menu choices for each meal, and they are posted in advance, but if you truly do not like anything on today’s menu, you may certainly ask what else is available, or request a simple option such as a sandwich or egg. If you have dietary restrictions, they will have been documented when you arrived, and appropriate entrees are being offered to you (which may differ slightly from what other residents are eating). If food preferences become an ongoing issue, by all means talk to the food services manager about your ideas and every effort will be made to accommodate you. Nutrition and enjoyment of meals is one of the fundamentals of a retirement residence’s mandate, and is taken very seriously by its management.
Everyone at my table is gaga – what can I do?
Well, that’s a pretty strong statement, but if for whatever reason you are not enjoying meals because of your tablemates, speak to the maitre’d, who will arrange another table for you. This will be done with great tact to spare everyone’s feelings.
