The Culinary Leadership Training Series
Better Plates. Stronger Teams. More Consistent Execution.
Presented by the Senior Dining Association in partnership with Transformed Culinary Solutions
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 Lab 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.
Why Attend
By the end of the series, participants will have practical tools to:
- Improve plate presentation
- Strengthen consistency across shifts
- Coach cooks more effectively
- Build pride and ownership in the kitchen
- Improve IDDSI meal presentation
- Create better daily execution
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:
- Executive chefs
- Sous chefs
- Culinary managers
- Lead cooks
- Rising culinary leaders
- Dining leaders who support culinary training and execution
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:
- Learn how color, height, balance, and contrast can improve plate appeal and resident perception.
- Understand how to use proteins, vegetables, starches, sauces, and garnishes to create stronger visual impact.
- Build simple plate presentation standards that cooks can repeat during real service.
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.
Key Takeaways:
- Identify the common causes of inconsistent execution.
- Build repeatable standards for prep, cooking, plating, and service.
- Coach the team in a way that improves consistency without blame.
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.
Key Takeaways:
- Teach cooks to think about quality, timing, and resident experience.
- Identify team members with leadership potential.
- Give cooks small leadership responsibilities that build confidence and ownership.
Session 4: Improving IDDSI Plating Making Modified Textures Look and Feel Like Hospitality
Tuesday, October 29, 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.
Culinary Demo:
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.
Key Takeaways:
- Learn practical ways to make IDDSI plates look more intentional, colorful, and appetizing.
- Understand how to improve presentation while still following required texture and testing standards.
- Build simple plating standards that help cooks serve modified textures with more consistency and pride.
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.
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