When a rapidly expanding senior living community faced several large operational challenges, Entegra Culinary Consulting (ECC) stepped in—not just as a consultant, but as a strategic partner. 

“This client recognized that ‘this is a marathon, not a sprint,’” says Chef Brett Cunningham, Director, Entegra Culinary Services. “We have weekly calls with them for planning and to check in on goals and objectives. We’re both committed to complete transparency.” 

With this positive, collaborative outlook leading the way, and an existing relationship with Entegra as their GPO (group purchasing organization), to date, ECC has tackled:

• Culinary standardization 
  Inconsistent recipes, menus, and order guides were causing inefficiencies and product mismatches. The culinary consultants at ECC standardized some of the clients’ existing recipes and helped create new ones, introducing the right people at Smithfield, a valued Entegra F&B supplier partner. “We looked at the client’s food distributor and worked from there to ensure they were leveraging Entegra-contracted products to save money,” adds Chef Brett.
• Introducing technology for culinary consistency 
  ECC helped the community adopt combi oven technology with support from Alto-Shaam, a valued Entegra supplier partner. These cutting-edge ovens combine steam and dry heat for consistent results. 
  Alto-Shaam’s cloud-based remote oven and cooking management system, ChefLinc™, has enabled recipes to be shared seamlessly across all of the clients’ locations, driving consistency.

• Addressing labor and skill shortages 
  ECC introduced speed-scratch and retherm products to simplify kitchen processes. “Speed scratch has come such a long way,” says Chef Brett. “We’re seeing some of the finest resorts and restaurants using speed scratch to maintain quality because of workforce constraints.”
• Aligning Menu and Branding
  A menu is a critical branding centerpiece when it comes to dining. When auditing menus, table pop-up stands and other dining assets, the ECC's culinary service group found legacy logos and other inconsistencies. found legacy logos and other inconsistencies. ECC worked on refreshed branding and alignment with other campuses to ensure a unified brand experience.
• Implementation of safety and sanitation best practices
  ECC uncovered gaps in safety and sanitation, including the opportunity to improve auditing tools and food safety practices. Chef Brett and his team introduced structured checklists, compliance tools and connected them with suppliers from Entegra's Local and Direct savings program for help finding safe and effective chemical and sanitizer products, training and implementation. 

By helping this 86-location business elevate standards across all its sites, the ECC is positioning it for future success.

Whether you're a restaurant, hotel, healthcare provider, senior living community, or any hospitality-driven business, ECC would love to discuss tailoring solutions that will streamline your culinary operation and, ultimately, help you drive more profits. 

Contact ECC today to set up an informal discussion on how they can help your operation thrive!