Laurel Poluk, Hospitality Supervisor, Food and Nutrition Services

Laurel is the team lead for food production, resident menu development and execution. She creatively collaborates with residents, their families and her team to enhance the dining experience. She engages resident feedback on the menu items being served and takes this feedback to heart, removing items that are not well liked, revising recipes and exploring different cooking methods to improve quality. Laurel receives feedback in an approachable and solution based manner. To engage resident’s opinions, Laurel brought menu items that were being considered as tasting samples so residents could vote on items they would like added to the menu. Laurel honors everyone’s voice. She has the ability to draw out the best in the residents, making them feel truly heard and turning a conversation that started out as complaint into a collaborative effort to make an improvement. 

Laurel works in partnership with her team. She is quick to share her knowledge as a Red Seal Chef to make positive changes. This has shifted the attitude of the team from being task focused to goal focused- and the goal is resident satisfaction.  Laurel brings out the best in those she works with and her integrity and humility allow people to identify areas they need to work on, and then she helps them do just that. Everyone at the table with Laurel feels heard and comfortable to express their viewpoints and this collaboration improves life for the residents.