Cura, Passavant Market Fresh at Home; Unveils at The Bistro Reopening

Fresh at Home was also launched to current residents and Passavant employees during the grand re-opening celebration of The Bistro on February 22, closed for nearly a year due to the pandemic.  “Following the Elior branded Safe Cafe guidelines, our team was very happy to reopen and to finally see our residents in person, approaching our services to something more normal,” says Barbara Ferguson, RDN, LDN, general manager of nutrition services for Cura.

The community’s marketing department came up with the idea to promote the living spaces and Cura’s new Fresh at Home.  For a cost of only $10- $12, the meal kit comes complete with fresh ingredients that are pre-packaged, along with step-by-step recipe instructions so residents can easily use the ingredients to prepare a delicious meal in their home in less than 30 minutes.

According to Kasandra Leighland, director of marketing and communications for Passavant, one of the things residents are particularly interested in prior to moving into a community like ours, is the food.  Cura does a great job in delivering and providing special touches.  “We want to build upon that and feature the expertise of our chefs and what Cura has to offer,” Ms. Leighland says.

Passavant’s audio and visual department produced the cooking video in a residential living space featuring Cura’s Executive Chef Gregory Fried preparing apricot chicken with roasted potatoes and green beans.  “It gives prospective residents an idea of cooking the Fresh at Home meal kit in their new kitchen at Passavant,” says Ms. Leighland.

Prospective residents were invited to Passavant while Cura was working on deploying Fresh at Home which includes chicken, fish, pasta, pork, and vegetarian recipe options.  “They loved the concept, the simplicity and the cost.  In fact, they wanted to know how they could have Fresh at Home delivered to their home before moving in!” says Ms. Leighland.

Residents and employees were also excited to be back at The Bistro, a casual setting open to both residents and staff.  The Bistro is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The menu offers meals made to order, fresh dough pizza from the pizza oven, grab and go and other convenience food and beverages from the cooler.  “Residents and staff also enjoy freshly baked pastries, cookies and cakes homemade by our baker Jessica Hendrick, and daily specials such as fish tacos.  You can tell residents are so excited to be back,” Ms. Ferguson adds.

During the grand opening, residents received Fresh at Home order forms, enjoyed complimentary apricot chicken samples, and watching the cooking video that currently airs on the community’s in-house tv channel.

Fresh at Home was also added to the dining’s extensive grocery program, which has been extremely popular during the pandemic.  Residents can add the meal kit to their weekly grocery list, along with milk, bread, fruit, eggs, and other proteins.  Order forms are available throughout campus, with several drop off locations, as well as new forms in their grocery delivery.   “Dining has gone out of their way, especially during the pandemic, to accommodate residents.  Current and prospective residents are seeing the value, and that the options here are unlimited,” says Ms. Leighland.

Plans are already underway for future Fresh at Home cooking shows and live demonstrations in The Bistro.  Executive Chef Gregory loves cooking for his residents, but also believes that residents should have a sense of independence.  “It’s great for their self-esteem to cook for themselves.  Fresh at Home makes it easy for them to do so,” he says.