This article is sponsored by Spiceology. In this Voices interview, Senior Housing News sits down with Spiceology Director of Foodservice, Enterprise Sales Joshua Holmes to hear about how the introduction of new salt-free flavors can excite and engage senior living residents while reducing labor costs. Holmes also shares the newest Spiceology flavors (think: unsalted caramel) and how operators are leveraging their dining programs even during times of socially distanced communities.
Senior Housing News: What are the top experiences that you most draw from in your current position?
Joshua Holmes: I think it comes down to my 25 years as a culinarian in this field, with 17 of those at the executive level in multi-unit operations, resorts and private clubs. I gained exposure to high-level team environments with executive committees and massive initiatives. Learning how to speak the language and drive complex conversations in that atmosphere was critical. IT (information technology) enabled me to listen to challenges, understand them and offer valid solutions.
The senior housing industry is accustomed to discussing staffing challenges, but operators might not be thinking about how food and dining solutions can help alleviate those challenges. What are the under-discussed tools that operators can use to increase creativity while potentially decreasing labor efforts?
Holmes: Staffing challenges have been an ongoing issue across all sectors of this industry for many years now. When I think about tools for increasing creativity while decreasing labor, salt-free seasoning blends is the first thing that comes to mind. We can utilize them in restrictive diets and dining atmospheres, creating quick direction with no additional prep time.
With little-to-no increase in your food item budget line, you can reduce the skilled labor on your food line and increase consistency while providing exciting dining options without overcomplicating the process on the back end.
How can operators use other creative dining elements, such as food cart stations and food trucks, to create a richer programming experience for residents?
Holmes: I think of things like farmers markets, too. Let’s say you’re living in California and some of the local growers set up a vegetable stand on campus. Your guests can see the fresh ingredients you’re cooking with, and they can even take some back to the room. It is an interactive environment with chefs demo-ing quick dishes with the available ingredients. Residents can walk around and enjoy the food, where it comes from, their chef and their community.
Given the current circumstances, many communities are also offering live video cooking demos from their chefs and their operations. It enables culinary teams to form a bond with residents by including them in the process. This gives insight into the cooking process and creative direction so residents understand the level of thought going into their dining experience.
I work with a couple of communities that are actively doing this right now. They’ll rotate their chef through each property to create one dish on-air. Before the event goes live, the management team also markets the event heavily, offering cooking elements to residents who want to follow along. I love the interactive nature of this concept, and I think it could be extremely valuable to other communities across the country. When you can generate excitement within your residents, you improve your satisfaction scores, and ultimately, your retention rate.
What are the top dining trends that matter for today’s senior living residents?
Holmes: The move from fine dining to fine casual is a big one. Back in the ’90s, you had to get dressed up to access great food. Then Danny Meyer and Tom Colicchio changed the mold. They met the demand for incredible, inventive food in that fine casual environment, creating a more comfortable, approachable dining model.
The farm-to-table and regional cuisine movement after that was the driving force of restaurant trends in the 2000s during the Great Recession. It created more of a focus on community and food sourcing, creating a new standard for quality that is everywhere today.
I also think of simple and delicious food truck concepts. Food trucks, pods and carts were the next evolution of local simplicity, and they provide a place to get one specific thing done extremely well. We are starting to see these pop up in senior living communities as well.
Spiceology recently introduced a series of four new salt-free blends. What are they and how did you decide to develop those four specifically?
Holmes: Spiceology developed 11 salt-free options that we invited the public to vote on online. It was an interactive experience where we elicited feedback from anybody who wanted to participate. These were the four that won out.
One new flavor they selected was unsalted caramel. It is a familiar and comforting flavor that is also approachable because it’s salt-free. Fryless fried chicken was another winning flavor and a way for residents to get that familiar flavor profile without having to visit the deep fryer.
Our new buffalo wing blend is not super hot, but it still has the flavors reminiscent of residents’ favorite pubs and sports bars. Inviting the public to vote on the new flavors was a great exercise, and I thought that the participants chose well. I’m excited to see how they’re received in the broader community.
How do salt-free blends reinvigorate a resident’s palette, and what impact does that have on each resident’s overall experience?
Holmes: The whole goal is to generate excitement and interest. If you can create a bond between the resident and the kitchen, that’s where the magic happens. Taste and nostalgia go hand in hand, and these blends generate a sense of fun associated with different parts of their lives.
Those sensory inputs are awakening, and the right flavors can fill the soul. That feeling has the potential to change everything about the residency experience, which is why dining experience remains a top concern for owners and operators today. They are judged on dining experience three times a day, so when you can incorporate something new and fun, it helps.
There are only so many ways you can grill a chicken. With 17 different blends reminiscent of dishes they probably haven’t tasted in a long time, operators can keep their residents excited.
Food and flavor are the language of love. How do you recommend operators define ROI with regards to their culinary program?
Holmes: Are visitors staying on property instead of taking their loved ones off property to get a bite to eat? Are communities expressing more excitement and engagement in common dining areas? We all know the biggest challenges operators face is resident satisfaction within the dining experience. When you elevate the dining experience and start to see more engagement, that’s where you know your return on investment is really happening.
The dining experience is the one thing communities are judged on multiple times a day. Operators need to invest real resources in their culinary program and look for tools that can help generate excitement and happiness. It’s just going to benefit everybody in the long run.
I know that labor is hard and restrictive budgets are challenging, but small changes can produce amazing results. You can find opportunities in spice blends and custom blends, which barely cut into the kitchen budget. It can create such a broad spectrum of new things for your clients to experience, and that’s where the impact is made.
Entering this year, we didn’t know what to expect in 2021. What has been the biggest surprise of the year so far in the senior living industry, and what impact do you think that will have on the industry for the remainder of the year?
Holmes: The mass shutdown gave everyone time to re-evaluate their operations and plan their next moves. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how encompassing this approach has been. So many companies have taken this time to do a deep dive into what they’re doing, make structural changes and reimagine their operations in an entirely new way.
It’s very easy for operations of scale to really turn the ship. You’re going to see that accelerate with the rest of the year because people are willing to take a chance and expand on what they’re doing.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
This article is sponsored by Spiceology. To learn more about how you can spice up your kitchen with delicious, diet-safe salt-free blends, visit spiceology.com/foodservice.
The Voices Series is a sponsored content program featuring leading executives discussing trends, topics and more — shaping their industry in a question-and-answer format. For more information on Voices, please contact sales@agingmedia.com.
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