Carroll Lutheran Village Chef’s Tasting Event: Keeping it fresh, local and fabulous.
To find inspiration for a recent Chef’s Tasting event, Carroll Lutheran Village Executive Chef Shelley Funt didn’t have to look far.
“We really wanted to do something local,” Shelley said. “We use a lot of local products in our day-to-day operation here, and for this event, we wanted to take that to a higher level.”
Approximately 50 guests were thrilled to experience the event at CLV’s farm-to-table restaurant, Zest. (Due to high demand, there was an encore event.) The fine dining experience began with a Maryland sweet corn salad with fresh greens and house vinaigrette.
“Being in this part of Maryland, we’re able to access a massive bounty of exceptional produce—especially during the summer,” Shelley said.
One of the local partners contributing to the meal was Finksburg Farms, which supplies nutritious microgreens on demand. “The farmer there can usually grow what we need in two to three weeks,” Shelley explained. “So, I just call him up and tell him what I need. He then plants it, grows it, harvests it and delivers it in time for the meal. It’s kind of fabulous.”
The main course featured local rockfish imperial with buttered asparagus and gratin potatoes. “I really wanted to use rockfish,” Shelley said. “It’s a versatile fish that’s super popular here in the D.C./Baltimore area. It’s fished from the Chesapeake Bay, and we paired it with a blue crab imperial.”
To cap off the meal, the culinary team sourced blueberries from a local farm and coupled them with a lemon curd to create a lemon blueberry trifle dessert.
Lots of love for a senior living gourmet dinner
Not surprisingly, the Chef’s Tasting meal got rave reviews. “It went really well,” Shelley said. “We had a few people who were so excited, they wanted to go ahead and move in. They asked me, ‘Is this what you serve every day?’
“No, we don’t serve this type of meal every day, just every week.” Shelley laughed. “Our residents can enjoy a very similar fine dining experience in Zest every Thursday through Saturday.
“Our culinary team also talks about what our residents enjoy eating,” Shelley continued. “Here, that’s a daily conversation. What do residents want? What are they looking for? What can we do to make it different for them? What can we do to make it exciting for them? And freshness always plays a key role.”
Serving the larger community.
Shelley explained how CLV’s commitment to the Westminster, MD, community extends beyond supporting local businesses and farmers. “Of course, we love to serve our residents,” she said, “but we’re here to serve people, whether they’re our residents or not. We do a lot of volunteer work to support the community.”
Shelley and team prepare meals for local churches to feed those who are less fortunate. “We just did a lasagna meal for a church that fed about 45 people,” she said. “We also partner with LifeBridge Health Hospice and Palliative Care in Carroll County, and work food events to help support their organization.”
Whether it’s a fine dining Chef’s Tasting event, a casual everyday favorite dialed up in an unexpected way, or serving people beyond our walls, Carroll Lutheran Village’s culinary team always put in the extra effort. If all this has your taste buds tingling, learn how you can be a part of CLV’s next senior living event.
Or get an up-close and personal view of our scenic 100-acre senior living community by scheduling a visit or calling 410-453-1655.
