As senior food service evolves, facilities must recruit experienced chefs who may not have backgrounds in senior living, according to an article on the Senior Housing News website.

In hiring for dining, there are two major differences between preparing food for senior living versus a restaurant clientele: a captive audience and a superior schedule and quality of life, the article said.

“The only difference is that in other dining segments, guests come in and go home,” Morrison Senior Living Senior Corporate Executive Chef John Rifkin said in the article. “But here, it is their home. You have to be more on your game because this is where the residents live.”

As the food service philosophy moved away from a traditional healthcare model, the hiring process followed.

Companies have incorporated creative takes on a practical portion of the exam for applicants, the article said. One search for an executive chef involved a "Top Chef"-style exercise based on a select market basket that tested the creativity of the applying chefs.

Read the article.