The Palms at Ponte Vedra has a new culinary services director.
Matthew Keenan took on the role in January after former director Darryl Young relocated to Buffalo, New York, to be closer to his family.
Executive Director Barbara Matteson said The Palms is grateful for Young’s contributions and wishes him well. She also said they’re pleased to have Keenan on board. Since joining The Palms, Keenan told the Recorder everything has been going well.
“I love working here so far,” Keenan said. “I’m having a blast. The staff here is amazing — very tight-knit and family-oriented. And I really enjoy that.”
Keenan most recently taught advanced culinary arts at Virginia College in Jacksonville, which shut down all its campuses across the country in December 2018. Prior to that position, he taught culinary arts at a high school for children with special needs in New Jersey. A Charleston native, Keenan’s background also includes a job as a dietary manager there at a long-term nursing facility. In addition, he owned and operated his own restaurant in the Charleston area.
Starting his career in the Navy in 1995, Keenan worked as a cook for eight years in Norfolk, Virginia on the USS George Washington and at a Naval hospital in Charleston. He also worked at a Naval weapons station in Charleston, serving 4,000 meals a day. Keenan’s wife is now in the Navy, and her service was the impetus for their moves to New Jersey and Jacksonville. The couple currently lives at NAS Jacksonville, where Keenan’s wife is based, but is building a house in St. Johns.
Since joining the team in January, Keenan told the Recorder he’s been working on creating a culinary vision that is based around fresh foods. The overall goal, he said, is to create an experience that is as close to five-star dining as possible.
“We treat it as a restaurant,” he said. “They (the residents) order off a menu. We plate and garnish just like you would see in a restaurant. That’s the goal. … This is their home, and I want them to feel comfortable here. I don’t want them to be complaining about food or anything like that. … So far, we’re on the right track.”
Keenan noted that he meets with the residents once a month. The first time they met, he said he had a long list of notes. At their second meeting last week, however, he said the list was much smaller.
“They’re really accepting the new menu, and they’re loving it,” Keenan said. “And they’re giving me their input.”
Keenan’s culinary team of 15 is working on the fourth week of new menus this week. Their menu on Monday, for example, consisted of French dip sandwiches for lunch and jambalaya for dinner.
Moving forward, his goals include building the community’s herb garden in the courtyard, which is a project he plans to include the residents in. He also hopes to bring in guest chefs and produce expos to entertain and education the residents. In addition, Keenan is working on organizing cooking classes. Overall, the new culinary services director is excited for what’s to come at The Palms.
“It’s just a passion,” Keenan said about culinary arts. “I love watching people smile when they eat good food.”
