Rick Ladendorf
Founder & President
Prevo Health Solutions, Executive Producer of the America's Healthiest Clubs and Founder of the
Wellness Project.
Never trust a skinny chef...
There is one thing all private clubs have in common – they all serve food. But when it comes to sourcing, preparing and serving “healthy” food, not all chef’s are created equal.
That said, this issue is dedicated to recognizing Executive Chef’s from around the country that play a huge role in creating a culture of health and well-being at private clubs nationwide.
These award winning chefs have mastered their trade, but it is their passion to provide thoughtful and personalized culinary member experiences that we recognize. In many cases the members' relationship with food is medically driven, and it is up to the chef to recognize and cater to those very personal needs.
In my biased opinion, I believe the chef is at the core of and is a critical contributor to an effective wellness program, regardless if the club has a fitness center or not. Creating tasty and healthy options, conducting culinary and cooking classes & workshops and hyper-local sourcing of ingredients only happens when the Executive Chef believes food is thy medicine.
Fortunately for me, I meet some of the best chefs the private club industry has to offer and when I came across a rather large chef wearing a t-shirt with the words; “Never trust a Skinny Chef”, I laughed then thought, times are a changin’.
These days, members are demanding fresh, organic, clean ingredients and whenever possible sourced locally. They want to know where their food comes from and they appreciate it when the chef takes a personal interest in thier health and well-being.
Case in point, at Desert Highlands, “Wellness Wednesday’s” is the most popular dining days and has been for years. The Club at Mediterra’s biggest seller on the lunch menu is the Antioxidant Salad and at North Hills Club nearly 60% of the items sold on the lunch menu are salads.
It is a pleasure and an honor to recognize the Executive Chefs that have dedicated their lives to helping people live healthy and happy lives through clean, fresh and nutritional food.
Thank you all for allowing America’s Healthiest Clubs to share your story.
We invite you to nominate your awesome staff and show them how much you appreciate their efforts.
Publishers Corner
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Click to view a
1-minute Overview of
Americas Healthiest Clubs