St. Andrew’s senior living communities offer upscale, restaurant-style dining

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Dining in retirement communities is markedly different from just a few years ago, a trend in senior dining made evident at Cape Albeon in Valley Park and at Brooking Park and The Willows in Chesterfield. These communities in the St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System offer high-quality, locally sourced food and restaurant-style fare from classically trained chefs.

The quality of food in the St. Andrew’s family compares to restaurants, hotels and country clubs, according to Charles White, corporate culinary coordinator for St. Andrew’s. Utilizing several area farms, St. Andrew’s uses 80 to 90 percent fresh, local produce when in season, and frozen ingredients are avoided whenever possible. Cape Albeon, which has a beautiful dining room overlooking a lake, even harvests its own honey each year.

With a focus on heart-healthy options avoiding processed foods and saturated fats, St. Andrew’s caters to any specific dietary needs, like low-sodium and gluten-free diets, as well as allergies. Featuring linen table service, full seasonal menus and restaurant-style options aplenty, these are no run-of-the-mill buffet lines.

“If we are serving something they don’t want, they can always order whatever they’d like,” White said.

Brooking Park, The Willows and Cape Albeon cook to order all meals, which can even be delivered to residential apartments via room service. Brooking Park favorites include prime rib, apricot barbecue salmon, bacon-wrapped pork loin and tiramisu. 

Standout dishes popular with residents at The Willows and Cape Albeon include pan-seared halibut, bourbon salmon, grilled strip loin, and ossobuco, as well as a multitude of from-scratch desserts, including crème brulée and caramel apple pecan ice cream.

“They love the ice cream so much we had to source it out to Serendipity to feed a crowd of 200,”
White said.

The Willows also has a wine cellar with periodic tasting events and a recently added coffee bar, complete with a barista and all the typical café offerings available at major coffee shop chains.

In addition to the superior quality of healthy, upscale dining options, St. Andrew’s boasts a team of longtime, classically trained chefs and employees.

“Most of our chefs come from country clubs, so they know how to cook classically,” White said.

For more information, visit www.standrews1.com.

Lauren Healey is associate editor at Sauce Magazine.