Unlike restaurant and hotel customers, this clientele is, for the most part, a captive one. Because residents are in the same dining room day after day, menus must be kept interesting. Magnifying that challenge is the reality that aging bodies respond differently to food as the digestive system and taste buds change. So The Devonshire pulls out all the stops to keep its population interested and happy with the food. An ethnic night once a week features an entree from a foreign country such as Yugoslavia, or an American culture, such as the Amish.
Special occasions pepper the calendar.
And with these people, most of them have had their car taken away, they've lost their spouse, sold their home. Food is one of the few places left where they still have control. You've got to respect that. You have to serve food they like, make it interesting and give them healthy choices. A recent Wednesday dinner menu offered entree choices of lemon Dijon chicken breast, pot roast with vegetable gravy, baked halibut with lemon, and turkey croissant melt with avocado and sprouts.