Photo: Lutheran Home & Harwood Place - thelutheranhome.org/
Lutheran Home and Harwood Place dining room
Lutheran Home & Harwood Place
When the pandemic brought most people’s travel plans to a halt, Harwood Place Retirement Community’s staff got creative. Their Destinations program still allows residents to learn and explore by “visiting” countries such as Portugal, Australia, Japan, China and Belgium through the food and drink of those nations. Head Chef Tonya Garrido is in charge of crafting the international menus.
“Our residents are well traveled and well educated, and they love to go experience things,” Garrido says. “COVID kept us here and we were no longer able to get out and get the experiences like we had before. Many residents quickly tired of being confined and needed stimulation, excitement and fun. So we created this program that lets us travel while still at home.”
The Destinations program, which launched in early summer 2020, is the brainchild of Harwood’s Life Enrichment Director, Amy Bielawski. She chooses a city and country and develops facts and programming around the country, including a movie or a guest speaker. She creates printouts about the geography, customs and culture of each country. Garrido then plans the menu.
Once per month, residents have “traveled” to Japan, Australia, France, Ireland, Belgium, New Zealand and Germany. In May, they’ll head to Mexico. Countries are often chosen by a corresponding holiday or event; Ireland was the featured country in March to tie in with St. Patrick’s Day.
“For a whole day, we visit the country,” Garrido says. “I love a theme. We went to Japan during the Summer Olympics (held in Toyoko July 23 through Aug. 8, 2021). We had a red, white and blue burger for the American team, and a mid-day pub with a sushi demonstration.”
The “A Night in Toyoko” dinner included sukiyaki beef, tempura shrimp appetizers and Japanese cheesecake, which Garrido says was challenging because it’s much lighter and airy than American versions of cheesecake. “You have to whip egg whites and fold them in.”
Destination celebrations include music and decorations. Residents and staff are encouraged to dress up.
The Australian menu featured braised kangaroo. A trip to Belgium allowed residents to enjoy Belgium waffles and try braised rabbit with prunes, and braised endive with gruyere cheese. A French menu featured crepes and beef bourguignon (a French beef stew braised in red wine, along with beef stock, carrots, onions and garlic).
“We try to get things that people recognize, but also things that people might not be familiar with,” Garrido says. “It was a challenge getting products, especially during COVID, but we have to just go with the flow and tweak the dishes.”
Garrido starts by researching each featured country and its geography, along with what’s farmed and fished, and the ingredients local people eat. She finds that the globe is truly a melting pot; cuisines in many countries are influenced by another country.
Elevating Senior Dining Options
Garrido developed a passion for culinary arts while working at a family-owned Greek restaurant. “I started as a waitress and loved working in restaurants. But in order to make money, you have to be very knowledgeable of the menu. I had to pick apart every dish so I could sell it,” she recalls.
She graduated from Milwaukee Area Technical College’s culinary arts program in 2002. She’s been at Harwood Place Retirement Community for the past decade and has seen the food program evolve under chef Justin Johnson, along with several chefs over the years that put their own creative touches on the menu.
“I started here as a line cook and the food program was very small and basic, with a lot of old school recipes,” she says. “There were lots of frozen vegetables and simplified options. Not everything was fresh.” Johnson added more variety and brought in fresh, local and sustainably produced foods.
The world is opening up again, but Garrido says residents have enjoyed Destinations and it will stay. “We have an ever increasing population. People move in and out, so we get an influx of new people. Even if we visit the same country twice, we can do it a little different. Food is always changing.”
