Celebrity chefs work with retirement homes to promote quality food

Oakville, Ont. – Celebrity chefs Michael and Anna Olson will provide seasonal menus and monthly desserts to Seasons Retirement Communities, which operates retirement residences in Ontario and Alberta.

Each month in 2018, all of Seasons Retirement Communities homes staff will bake and serve a delicious Anna Olson dessert, and twice annually, Michael will provide seasonal menus for the homes’ dining services managers to create, the company said in a news release.

Michael Olson has been a Chef Professor at Niagara College’s Canadian Food & Wine Institute since 2001. Anna Olson hosts three shows on the Food Network and is a published author of several bestselling cookbooks and magazines.

“This partnership channels the spirit of my grandmother and the connection I had with her. Our bond was food. Food brings us all together,” Anna Olson said. “It is more important than ever that we establish contentment and nutrition around meal time. I love what working with Seasons represents, in terms of bringing me back to my roots.”

To launch the partnership, Anna will host a live pie-baking demonstration at Seasons Stoney Creek, Ont., and through Facebook Live on Jan.23, known as National Pie Day.

“Some people think retirement food is boring and bland. Partnering with Michael and Anna Olson helps to change this misconception while giving our own chefs new inspiration to create delicious dishes for our residents,” said Larry Bone, director of dining services, Seasons Retirement Communities.

In celebration of National Pie Day, all Seasons Retirement Communities in Ontario and Alberta will bake and serve residents the pie recipe as shown in Anna’s live demonstration.