I have worked in the LTC/PAC sectors for over 35 years in both the for-profit and non-profit organizations directing operations, including Culinary Services.  The meeting the expectations of the patient/resident and the quality of the meals being served is of critical importance to the success and sustainablity of the organization.  Meals happen three times a day and are a central social point for the campus.  Rich Daehn's model and his leadership have created an excellent example of how culinary can become a point of excellence for an organization.  Rich understands the nutritional needs of the individual but also their expectation of consuming meals that are tasty and appealing.  He has developed a niche' that has not been duplicated by any other consulting or culinary services vendor.  I highly recommend his model to my colleagues in the sector.

It was a great experience to watch Rich bring the secrets of culinary service and guest satisfaction from the restaurants and hotels of the hospitality industry into the Senior Living setting. His passion for quality and service generated an excitement and enthusiasm with over 40 culinary leaders in the  apartment, assisted living and nursing facilities across our long term care organization.  All supported by a Baldrige based continuous quality improvement process and important key measures and metrics.  His success was a big part of the organization achieving the highest level of Baldrige state recognition.  He created an entire new standard of excellence for us in food quality, presentation and enhanced guest satisfaction.

I have had the opportunity to watch, listen and lead with Rich. As a leader Rich can see how the power of effective coaching inspires greater performance and potential in a team and organization. Rich is very good at leading with integrity, facilitating and getting the best out of everyone. He is engaging, motivating and encouraging.

When I reflect about all that I have learned from Rich, it is hard to summarize into a couple sentences. Firstly when I think of the word “leader” he is the first person I think of. Rich has become a true mentor to me. I have had the excellent opportunity of working on two new kitchens, serving kitchens, restaurants, bistros and on campus c-stores in two different senior living communities construction projects recently with Rich – both of which would not have been successful without Rich’s culinary and hospitality vision. He is deeply dedicated to improving our culinary and hospitality experience. He has taught me to think outside the box with our guest experience, menu development, and associate growth.

It has been an incredible experience working with Rich and Quality Culinary Solutions. When our organization acquired 21 new facilities in December of 2019, we made nutrition and food quality one of our top priorities in order to continue the level of care our new residents received. Rich has been an invaluable consultant for us, working side by side with our Regional Dietician Nutritionists to develop new menus. These new menus not only deliver the quality we were striving for, but Rich’s efforts towards formulary optimization has led to cost savings in our operations. While food quality and nutrition are our primary focus, survey management and adhering to regulatory guidelines are critical to serving our residents  We appreciate Rich’s attention to regulatory efforts, working closely with and prepping the dietary departments. In addition, with his guidance, we created over 100 Food & Nutrition Services Policies & Procedures specific to North Shore. As we move forward in our implementation of IDDSI, Rich is providing training to ensure we will meet and exceed the standards of quality in the IDDSI framework.