Wednesday, June 15, 2016
Our Own Chef Victoria, Chartwell Food Service Manager, cooked for world leaders at the G8 summit held in Huntsville.
Victoria Reynolds, Food Service Manager at Chartwell James Street Retirement Residence in Bracebridge, wasn't always an aspiring chef. In fact, her plan was to become a broadcast journalist—a path much different from cooking. What started as dishwashing for a kitchen as a teen eventually led to a passion for food preparation, and she couldn't be happier with her decision to pursue her newfound dream. Starting in the kitchen When a chef at her first job picked up on her natural abilities in the kitchen, Reynolds decided to pursue an education in culinary management at Humber College. After two years, she graduated with honours and received a scholarship to work in London at Mosimann's Dining Club in Knightsbridge, which served as the foundation of her culinary career. There, she picked up valuable skills that she was able to translate to her following cooking positions, including a pastry chef at Grosvenor's Restaurant in South Hampton and Deerhurst Resort in Huntsville. Reynolds started as the First Cook at Deerhurst, and was honoured when she was selected to cook for world leaders at the 36th G8 Summit. "In terms of food and food handling, it was an amazing experience as a chef," she says. "I had a personal health inspector inspecting how I handled, heated and cooled food to make sure the leaders would not be harmed in any way. As we cooked, there was armed security at the doors of the kitchen." Security isn't the only part of the experience that sticks out in Reynolds' mind. The menu was also unique and true to Canadian culture. "It wasn't as lavish as people might think," she says. "They wanted to have the Muskoka experience, so what they ate was from products that we locally sourced, grew and produced in Muskoka – venison, pickerel and wild leeks. Local artisans even crafted the dishes they ate off of, which highlighted what Muskoka as a community has to offer." Joining Chartwell After moving to Huntsville, Reynolds sought a job that wasn't just seasonal and was close to home. In 2011, she joined the Chartwell family, continuing to work weekends at Deerhurst, and eventually transitioned solely to Chartwell. She's been with the senior living community ever since and finds it to be an extremely rewarding experience. "My experience at Chartwell has given me a lot of new skill sets. As a manager in the home, I'm not only managing food and beverage, but the lives and feelings of our residents as well," she says. Reynolds has made it her mission to brighten her residents' days and feels most satisfied when her meals make them happy and comforted. "My favourite part of the job is getting to know what makes each resident smile. All I want to do when I come to work is make people happy," she says. "If that means making their favourite soup or just having some decorations in the dining room, that's what I'll do."
