Senior living dining has grown far beyond food service—today it shapes comfort, connection, and community. This webinar explores how dining environments evolve when operations and design work together. Through two real-world case studies, we’ll look at how kitchen flow, equipment strategy, and service models align with finishes, lighting, acoustics, and spatial planning to create meaningful experiences. One project reimagines a 50-year-old community with a renewed foundation; the other shows how limited space can still deliver a high-impact dining venue. Attendees will learn how thoughtful planning supports efficiency, hospitality, and the expectations of today’s residents.
Takeaways
Speaker: JD Landis, Senior Designer with SFCS, Inc.
CEU Certificate of Attendance available for webinar attendees.
At The Chesapeake in Newport News, VA, leadership set out to reimagine dining in higher levels of care through two new cook-to-order concepts. Pier 57, a major transformation in Assisted Living, introduced a fresh, restaurant-style experience with an added display cooking studio and private dining room. In 2025, The Galley opened in the Health Care neighborhood, offering open display cooking and elevated amenities for both long-term and short-term guests. With more than $24 million invested since 2018, The Chesapeake is redefining what exceptional dining looks like across all levels of support.
Takeaways:
Speaker: David Loop, Executive Director with The Chesapeake
Senior living kitchens are being asked to do more than ever, deliver restaurant-quality meals, maintain consistency across teams, elevate modified texture dining, and lead with confidence in a fast-paced, high-expectation environment. At the same time, many culinary leaders are navigating staffing challenges, training gaps, and increasing pressure to improve resident satisfaction.
If you’re looking to sharpen your skills, strengthen your team, and bring fresh energy and consistency back to your kitchen, this series is built for you.
The Culinary Leadership Training Series is a 4-part live educational virtual experience designed specifically for executive chefs, sous chefs, culinary managers, and rising culinary leaders who want to elevate both their food and their leadership.
Through a powerful combination of culinary education, live demonstrations, leadership development, and real-world strategies, you’ll gain practical tools you can immediately apply helping you improve plate presentation, streamline execution, train your team more effectively, and deliver a consistently better dining experience for your residents.
In addition, this series provides a clear pathway for professional development, helping you build the skills, confidence, and leadership capabilities needed to grow into your next role and advance your culinary career within senior living.
By the end of the series, participants will have practical tools to:
Certificate of Completion
Participants who complete the full 4-part series will receive a Certificate of Completion from the Senior Dining Association.
Series Dates
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 The Art of the Senior Living Plate: Using Food Artistry, Color, and Presentation to Improve Perception
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 Same Plate, Every Shift: Mastering Consistency
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 Developing Cooks into Culinary Leaders
Tuesday, October 6, 2026 Improving IDDSI Plating: Making Modified Textures Look and Feel Like Hospitality
Time: 2:00–3:00PM EST | 1:00 - 2:00PM CST
Format: Live virtual education series
Includes: Culinary demos, leadership development, practical takeaways, and certificate of completion
Who Should Attend
This series is designed for:
What You Will Learn
Participants will learn how to improve plate presentation, strengthen consistency across shifts, develop cooks into stronger team members, and make IDDSI meals look more intentional, dignified, and appetizing.
This is not a basic cooking demo. It is a practical education series built around the real challenges culinary leaders face every day.
Session 1: The Art of the Senior Living Plate
Using Food Artistry, Color, and Presentation to Improve Perception
Tuesday, September 15, 2026 | 2:00–3:00 PM EST | 1:00 - 2:00PM CST
This session helps executive chefs and sous chefs rethink the plate as more than a meal. It is a first impression. Darin will teach practical food artistry principles that make everyday menu items look fresher, more balanced, and more intentional without adding unnecessary complexity to service.
Participants will learn how color, height, contrast, sauce placement, garnish, portion layout, and primary food color principles can improve the way residents see and experience food before the first bite.
Culinary Demo:
Darin will take a common senior living plate and show it in three stages: basic execution, improved execution, and elevated but realistic execution. The demo will highlight how simple visual changes can quickly improve the perception of the meal.
Key Takeaways:
Session 2: Same Plate, Every Shift Mastering Consistency
Tuesday, September 22, 2026 | 2:00–3:00PM EST | 1:00 - 2:00PM CST
Inconsistent execution is one of the biggest challenges in senior living kitchens. One cook plates beautifully, another rushes through service, and the resident experience changes from shift to shift.
This session helps executive chefs and sous chefs identify where consistency breaks down in prep, cooking, holding, plating, timing, and service. Participants will learn how to create simple, repeatable standards that help every cook execute the same menu item the same way.
Session 3: Developing Cooks into Culinary Leaders
Tuesday, September 29, 2026 | 2:00–3:00PM EST | 1:00 - 2:00PM CST
Strong kitchens are built when cooks begin to think beyond the task in front of them.
This session helps executive chefs and sous chefs develop cooks who take more ownership of quality, timing, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. Participants will learn how to identify leadership potential on the line and give cooks small, meaningful ways to lead from their station.
The goal is to help chefs create a stronger bench of future sous chefs, lead cooks, and culinary leaders.
Session 4: Improving IDDSI Plating Making Modified Textures Look and Feel Like Hospitality
Tuesday, October 6, 2026 | 2:00–3:00PM EST | 1:00 - 2:00PM CST
Modified texture meals should never feel like an afterthought. This session helps executive chefs and sous chefs improve the appearance, consistency, and dignity of IDDSI meals while maintaining proper texture requirements and testing expectations. Participants will learn how to use color, shape, sauces, garnishes, portion balance, molds, and plate layout to make IDDSI meals look more intentional and appetizing.
Darin will demonstrate how to take a modified texture meal from basic service to a more thoughtful plate presentation. The demo will show how color contrast, shaped components, sauce work, portion balance, and clean plate layout can improve the visual appeal of IDDSI meals while still respecting texture requirements.
About the Speaker
Chef Darin Leonardson with Transformed Culinary Solutions
Chef Darin Leonardson is the President and CEO of Transformed Culinary Solutions and the founder behind Transformed Culinary Kits. With more than 30 years of culinary leadership experience, including work as a former Google culinary leader and guest chef with Holland America Line, Darin helps senior living, hospitality, and foodservice teams elevate dining through chef-driven training, menu development, operational excellence, and practical innovation. Based in Dallas, he is passionate about transforming everyday meals into meaningful moments through better food, stronger teams, and hospitality served with purpose.
INFORMATION:
Cancellation: No refunds will be given for cancellations received 5 days prior of the start date (September, 10, 2026). Cancellations made due to unforeseen circumstances are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. email Kathie@seniordining.org to cancel your registration.
No-Shows: Refunds will not be issued to participants who do not attend the training.
Senior Living Professionals Registration
Hosted by the Senior Dining Association and LeadingAge North Carolina
Location: The Pines at Davidson, 400 Avinger Ln, Davidson, NC 28036
Date: October 8, 2026
Time: 8:30am - 4:00pm ET
Meals
We will serve continental breakfast, lunch and snacks.
All Senior Living & Dining Professionals
Director of Dining, Executive Directors, Chefs, VPs of Dining and Operations, Managers and Supervisors should attend this event.
Attire
Fall Casual - Dress to learn, network, and have fun.
Continuing Education
A certificate of attendance will be provided to all event attendees upon request. 4.0 hours of continuing education credit for Nursing Home Administrators through the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators and the North Carolina Division of Health Service Regulation for Adult Care Licensure.
Payment
We accept Visa, MasterCard & American Express.
Cancellations & Refunds
Written requests for cancellation must be received at kathie@seniordining.org no later than September 25, 2026. All cancellations received prior to September 25, 2026 will be refunded less a $25.00 administrative fee per registration. All cancellations received after September 25, 2026 will be non-refundable. Substitutions are encouraged.
Exhibit & Sponsor Registration
Position your brand in front of North Carolina’s senior living decision-makers at this one-day, high-impact event focused on dining, hospitality, and workforce innovation.
Sponsorship Includes
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