Culinary Challenge at Shipley

June 09, 2022 | News | Reading Time 2:00 Minutes

Kathy Scott and Chef Cy Stewart had been jokingly boasting about their crabcakes.

Residents cheered them on and then acted as judges.

It began with crabcakes.

Shipley Living senior living community in Wilmington, Delaware, recently hosted a culinary challenge featuring two staff members artfully showing off their best crabcakes. With their skillets in hand, the competitive culinarians demonstrated their skills in front of an avid audience of residents.

Kathy Scott, Marketing Specialist and Director of Food and Beverage, Chef Cy Stewart, had been jokingly boasting to each other about their prowess in preparing crabcakes. They ultimately decided to take their case to the residents, who cheered them on and then acted as judges.

Using a recipe of her mother’s, Scott won the competition. She did, she admitted, sweeten the deal by offering the audience crab dip and crab soup “just to get a leg up.” Scott added, “There was a serious huddle in the back of the room when the judging was going on. Cy and I tried to listen, but they were too far away.”

“Going into the competition, the plan was for this to serve as the inaugural event in a series of similar programs. Cooking shows and competitions are so popular everywhere, and we know it’s something our residents enjoy,” said Tim Ballas, Executive Director.

Furthermore, Ballas said, cooking demos and challenges are a great opportunity to show offChef Cy’s talent. “His passion for hospitality comes through with each and every meal and at every event at Shipley Living. Cy’s attention to detail is reflected in every one of his dishes, and he is responsible for transforming meals into a true experience here every day.”

As they plan on adding subsequent culinary programs to their activities calendars, Ballas said, “We’d also like to add a live streaming feature and make some of the components interactive. This will be a great way to expand and enhance our activities offered at the community.”

“The residents have already come up with a whole list of foods including chili, meatloaf, wings, spaghetti, French toast, and barbecue spareribs,” Scott said.