VITALIA Active Adult Community – Rockside Thanks and Celebrates Its Culinary Director

Culinary is the art of preparing and presenting the food. A person who is an expert in this field – one who not only has a talent in the kitchen but that understands food science, nutrition, and diet – is called a Culinarian or Chef, and you can find them in hotels and restaurants around the world. Culinarians Day, held annually on July 25th, is a day to thank and celebrate the people who are serving up meals around the world, and the art of cooking in general.

(Fun Fact: the hat that chefs wear is called a Toque Blanche, which means white hat in French. It is believed that the height of the hat symbolizes the seniority and rank of the chef in the kitchen and the folds in the hat express the qualification of the chef.)

Around the world, this day is celebrated by conducting cooking events and competitions. At Vitalia Active Adult Community – Rockside, we will be celebrating with acknowledgement and gratitude of our Culinary Director, Nick Gutendorf, and their team!

Nick is an extremely hard worker and has filled nearly every position in the restaurant industry. He has a background in fine dining within a high-volume sales concept. Nick brings this type of culture to Vitalia Rockside with unique culinary food expressions and delicious meal presentations.

While at work Nick is very high-energy and always on the go. Outside of work Nick enjoys a more relaxing lifestyle with his family. He enjoys time outdoors, country music, and a good beer while grilling out. During the summertime, Nick enjoys traveling to concerts and festivals.

Nick says he would love to cook a meal for Jim Thome (Cleveland Indians baseball player from the 90’s) because that was his favorite player and he lived in his hometown of Aurora, Ohio.

The signature sweet our Culinary Director prepares for our community is molten lava cake. It’s made in house and a unique dessert for families to take home and share. His favorite dishes to make are the daily soups for our residents. This is something he did not do much prior to coming to Rockside, so it is a new skill set that he is enjoying mastering.

Nick is very active in the everyday activities with the residents. He ensures the culinary department is heavily involved with resident services and their events. Nick doesn’t just get to know all the residents by name, but their background as well.

We have a great culinary team here at Vitalia Rockside. Nick has a great leadership team that works under him led by David, the sous chef, and Kim, our dining manager. David and Kim create a fun and high-energy work environment which brings joy to all our residents. When all three of them are here residents spend considerable time in the dining room just hanging out with the culinary team.

We could not do what we do at 41º North without this hardworking team! If you want to get in on the Culinarian Day Fun, you can also celebrate the day with your friends and family by cooking some new recipes. Up the game by sharing pictures or video of the recipe and your adventures on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. tagged with #CulinariansDay.