In addition to a wide variety of cooking experiences, both personal and professional, the new executive chefs bring a focus on excellence to the table. During a time in which many of us are centered on consuming meals that are “quick” and “easy” in our own homes, the kitchen staff will be embracing fresh menu items with a homemade preparation process.
Tasked with directing the food preparation and presentation of the Union Square Café at Memorial, room service for in-patients, catered events, and the Mobile Meals program, Vance has hit the ground running. Partnering with the existing kitchen staff, he is committed to further developing menu selections and making food production processes more streamlined.
“I want our team to keep aiming high and continually improve what we offer,” remarks Vance. “I look forward to combining our talents to get back to the basics of preparing more menu items from scratch and growing our overall menu selections.”
Over at The Gables, the short- and long-term nursing care facility overseen by Memorial Hospital, Gray is charged with creating appealing meals for individuals who have a variety of dietary needs. In addition to residents who stay at The Gables, many individuals are there as temporary patients to recover from illness and undergo physical, occupational and/or speech therapy, not to mention the family members and employees who often dine there, too.
“I am eager to partner with our staff so that every meal for each person is an exciting and delicious adventure,” shares Gray. “We have implemented new ideas and procedures, such as an in-house garden in the spring and offering what we call “Taste Around the World”, where we serve a different ethnic cuisine once a week.”
Vance brings more than twenty years of career experience from notable establishments such as The Country Club at Muirfield Village, The Darby House, Scioto Reserve Country Club and Darby Glenn Nursing and Rehabilitation. In his free time, he can be found spending time with family, golfing, playing guitar or shooting pool.
Gray possesses a colorful culinary career, having traveled all over the country, making stops in Illinois, Texas, and Green Bay, Wisconsin, as he traveled with the PGA Tour catering events and serving as a chef to the Green Bay Packers and personal chef to Bret Favre. He eventually settled in Marysville, having worked for several restaurants and dining facilities in central Ohio. When not in the kitchen, he enjoys spending time with his fiancée and two children, and, of course, watching football.
