Eric and Sugar Erdman look younger than their 85 and 91 years. Maybe it’s their skin care routines, or getting enough sleep each night, or the fact that Eric brings Sugar breakfast in bed every morning.

As residents of The Park at Laguna Springs, a new senior living facility in Elk Grove, the Erdmans’ breakfasts are normally pretty tasty. Chef David Brannon has made sure of that with one of the most ambitious senior culinary programs around the Sacramento region.

“He’s a pretty good chef. I’ve got 10 extra pounds since I got here,” Eric Erdman said.

Senior living facilities don’t carry a reputation for culinary greatness. The Park wants to stand out from that sea of blandness while giving elderly residents the vitamins and nutrients they need to keep thriving for years to come.

The Park’s menu rotates every month, as frequently as Sacramento’s hot farm-to-fork restaurants. And the options are just as delicious: lobster macaroni-and-cheese croquettes, wood-fired fig and prosciutto pizzas, salads with candied walnuts, pomegranate seeds and Cara Cara oranges.

Brannon picks up produce from local farms on his drive to work, then organizes field trips to get seniors picking their own vegetables. Menu items are developed by the British Royal Family’s former chef as well as residents’ family recipes.

All of these dishes are carefully curated for the dietary needs of society’s most vulnerable age group. The idea of food as medicine has gained momentum in recent years — Medicare now covers some costs when California doctors prescribe patients specific foods — and The Park aims to prolong body and mental function through dishes such as a frittata with turmeric, broccoli and salmon.

The frittata’s eggs feed residents’ aging muscles the lean protein they seek, while turmeric’s anti-inflammatory properties can stave off harmful molecules called free radicals. Broccoli is loaded with vitamins that can help prevent heart disease, and salmon has more of that protein along with omega-3 fatty acids that keep cognitive decline at bay.

Seniors need complex carbohydrates, lean protein and fiber as they get older, said Dr. Gule-Rana Masood, a Sutter Health gerontologist based in Sacramento. A lack of available food isn’t normally the problem, but a dearth of tasty options can lead people to eat less or head to the snack drawer.

“If (seniors) go to nursing homes, we often see that they lose weight,” Masood said. “Nutritious food is very important, but it needs to be what they’re accustomed to. It still has to have some flavor with spices first, and it needs to be appropriately warmed. If these things are lacking, they will look for sweets, they will look for salt, which (are) very bad for their health.”

Why it’s different

The Park at Laguna Springs opened a year ago, the latest property owned by Washington-based Koelsch Senior Communities. A sprawling complex at 9670 Laguna Springs Dr. near Elk Grove Boulevard, it’s an independent living facility geared toward people 55 and older who don’t require intensive care.

For Brannon, it’s a departure from the “hospital-style” assisted living home kitchens in which he’s worked in the past, where steam tables ruled and dining rooms could be bleak. By contrast, The Park’s main dining area is a white-tablecloth restaurant called Monticello with a semi-open kitchen.

“The only reason I got with Koelsch is because of the restaurant-style (dining),” Brannon said. “I wasn’t looking for a cafeteria-based job, with my background ... you could sit at the bar and talk to me while I cook your plate. That’s where I’m from.”

Brannon isn’t just a senior home specialist, though. He cooked at Dogwood in Arnold as well as Tehama Golf Club and Clint Eastwood’s Mission Ranch Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea before coming to The Park.

He now drives an hour north to The Park from his home in Stanislaus County six days a week, stopping off to grab peaches from Sons Farm Fresh in Oakdale or honey from Bee Honest Farms in Herald. Sometimes The Park’s residents will join him, like on a trip to Davis Ranch in Sloughhouse to pick sweet corn.

Monticello is reserved for residents and their guests, but anyone can eat at Victory Bistro, an affordable nautical-themed cafe within The Park. Elk Grove Auto Mall employees regularly grab $6 roast beef and horseradish panini, $7 Cobb salads or $9 Guiness-battered fish and chips, Brannon said.

Those low prices are possible because Victory Bistro isn’t how The Park earns most of its bread. The average rent for a room at The Park is about $5,000 per month, which includes food, entertainment, transportation and housekeeping. Standalone “casitas,” like the one in which the Erdmans live, can get up to $7,000/month.

Cooking flavorful, interesting food for physically vulnerable people takes a special level of care and attention. Brannon and his staff know each of the 65 residents by name and medical background, and adjust dishes based on their orders — one should have cauliflower crust when she wants pizza, while a meat entree’s demi-glace might have too much salt for another.

“There’s certain things we only carry for (individual residents), but add onto the menu for everyone,” Brannon said. “We have veggie burgers and turkey burgers ... but we can also do a bacon cheeseburger. They can pretty much switch anything they like, add anything they like, take away anything they like.”

How the menu gets made

Americans have become increasingly food-focused over the last 30 years — culinary options are the No. 1 or 2 priority for potential independent living facility residents, said Koelsch director of culinary services Joel August.

In response, Koelsch has made food a priority from the top down. They brought in Darren McGrady, the former personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana and Princes William and Harry, as the residency chain’s “Royal Chef” who gives input and devises menu items from his home in Texas.

Menu items starred with the Union Jack are McGrady’s creations, and The Park plans to fly him out later this year to host high tea with residents.

The rest of the menu is up to Brannon and his team, though they take input. Residents’ family recipes have appeared on past menus, albeit with a health-conscious tweak or two along the way.

“They want new recipes, they want new suggestions and they do everything so that they’re attempting to please all of us. We all have needs when it comes to eating, but I think here ... they meet those needs for all of us,” said Sugar Erdman.

Victory Bistro

Hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Address: 9670 Laguna Springs Dr., Elk Grove (inside The Park at Laguna Springs).

What to get: Fried ravioli with marinara sauce ($5), a blackberry-apple-feta-candied walnut salad ($7) or beef cheeseburger sliders with sweet potato fries ($9). Throw in a glass of prickly pear sangria ($8) if you’re feeling boozy.

This story was originally published February 27, 2023 at 6:00 AM.