Chef Treats Seniors to Gourmet Meals

Pan seared pork loin with apple glaze, served with Yukon gold potatoes, zucchini and squash with basil butter and fresh baked corn bread. This may sound like an item off of an upscale restaurant menu, but the ladies of Rose Hill House in Kirkwood eat meals just like it three times a week.

Rose Hill House is an affordable housing community run by . Most of the time, residents cook their own meals and eat alone in their apartments. On Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, however, they can order a special meal prepared by professional chef Michael Winkler.

As executive chef at Barnes Jewish Hospital, Winkler starts his days at 4 a.m. and works through lunchtime feeding the hospital campus. When he finishes there, he goes to Rose Hill House and begins preparing dinner. His wife Annette, who works as operations manager for a hotel downtown, joins him later to help serve the food.

"We spend a lot of time here. It's not like it's making a whole lot of revenue or anything, but we've grown close to all of them, and they depend on us," Annette said.

"It's like having a bunch of grandmas," Michael said. "The hard part is getting attached to them, then seeing them come and go."

The Winklers began cooking for Rose Hill House about four years ago, when the previous chef for the dinner program there left. Now, they have about 30 loyal followers, and make 90 to 100 meals each week. They have come to know the residents well, down to who likes which vegetables and who has special diet needs.

"I don't fry anything; I try to use fresh vegetables, a well-balanced meal." Winkler said.

He prepares a new menu each week, with an entree for each day and a selection of "a la carte" items as alternatives. For special occasions, like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter, Winkler will sometimes make a Sunday brunch or prime rib dinner and have residents invite family or friends.

Residents pay around $8 per meal, which he uses to buy the next week's food. Annette said that with gas money figured in as well, they barely break even. Still, they intend to keep with it as long as they and the residents can afford to.

"I honestly think it's his contribution to society," said Anne Reese, a regular customer. "Not a lot of people that could come in here with a bunch of old women, trust me. I never could."

Reese said that on her first night at Rose Hill House, the night manager brought her in for a bowl of Winkler's soup, and she has been coming back ever since. All of the ladies gave rave reviews of the food and service, and said they wouldn't want to do without Winkler and his wife.

"No matter how nasty some people are, they always have smiles on their faces," said Delores Guetersloh, another resident. "We old ladies can get pretty cranky sometimes."

Joan Yochum particularly enjoys it when Winkler comes out and tells jokes for entertainment if there is nobody to play the organ during dinner. She also said that he cuts up the meat for one resident whose hands shake too much to do it herself. 

"He's just accommodating, honey; he's just a sweetheart," Yochum said. "For us old ladies, if he wasn't married we'd probably marry him."