The Kitchen Is the Heart of a Retirement Home

How satisfied staff create good food and happy residents

Residents ask every day:
“When is the snack?” “When is lunch?” “What will we have?” “Will there be something new?”
Every meal is an opportunity. An opportunity to create joy, evoke memories, and bring sincere smiles to the table.
What if every meal became a small celebration?

Placing the Kitchen at the Heart of the Home
How can the kitchen become the centre of life in a retirement home?
How can it connect food, people, daily routines, therapy, and community?

Our programme is designed as a process, not a one-off workshop. It brings together kitchen staff, management, therapists, and residents, with one shared goal: better everyday life through food.

How Our Collaboration Works?
1st Meeting – Getting to Know Each Other

A motivational and connecting meeting with the kitchen team, occupational therapy staff, and management.

The meeting concludes with a shared dinner at Hiša Linhart, a restaurant awarded a Michelin Star and a Michelin Green Star for sustainability.
Food becomes the starting point for trust, conversation, and inspiration.

2nd Meeting – Understanding the Current Situation

A workshop held at the retirement home, focused on:
the organisation and workflow of the kitchen,
food quality and menu planning,
staffing levels and competencies,
cooperation between the kitchen and occupational therapy,
communication between departments.

Together, we define goals, such as:
improving organisation and task delegation,
introducing more flexible working hours,
raising food quality (including special diets),
following principles of healthy, local, seasonal, traditional, and balanced cooking,
selecting local suppliers,
involving residents in food preparation,
reviving traditional resident recipes,
increasing visibility, reputation, and revenue through new programmes and events.

3rd Meeting – Planning and Creating

Joint menu development based on agreed guidelines and current trends
Planning beverages and food-related events
Introduction to modern kitchen tools and techniques to optimise daily work
Agreement on organisational improvements
Cooking new dishes together and upgrading existing ones

4th Meeting – Cooking and Presentation

Continued joint cooking
Exploring different ways of serving and presenting dishes
Improving the overall dining experience

5th Meeting – Long-Term Vision

Establishing in-house events and partnerships (suppliers, chefs, artisans, schools, adult education centres)
Creating a system for preserving and reviving residents’ recipes
Developing a simple marketing plan (programmes, events, communication, target groups)
Raising awareness that a retirement home is also a hotel
Writing and signing a shared action plan
Because satisfied staff are the foundation of satisfied residents.

Our Proposal

5 meetings, each lasting 5 school hours

The price is agreed individually, based on your needs and scope.


Who Leads the Programme?
Marcela Klofutar

Marcela began her career as a high school teacher and later moved into tourism and hospitality, working in sales, marketing, staff development, and management.

Together with Uroš Štefelin, she has led the successful revival of several hospitality projects, including Hotel Triglav Bled, Vila Podvin, and Hiša Linhart.

Marcela believes that restaurants and hotels are showcases of a destination and that hospitality gains value through connections with education, culture, art, music, and community.

Uroš Štefelin

Chef, mentor, and hospitality organiser.

Uroš has spent decades researching Slovenian cuisine and reviving traditional dishes in a modern context. His cooking is rooted in local ingredients, heritage recipes, and deep respect for tradition.

He is known for dishes that feel familiar yet surprising—food that carries warmth, memory, and joy.

Experience and References

Our work includes training and content development for retirement homes, schools, restaurants, hotels, and tourism organisations across Slovenia, as well as innovative projects developed during the pandemic, such as online cooking workshops and remote culinary experiences.