CDM, CFPP of the Month - July 2024

Name: Susan Zwack, CDM, CFPP

Job Title: Culinary Director

Employer: Transforming Age/Waterford Senior Living

Job Location: Brooklyn Park, MN

Months at Current Facility: 4 months

Years in Current Position: 15 years

CDM, CFPP Since: 2001

Why did you decide to become a CDM, CFPP?

I have been working in foodservice for 30+ years in long term care centers and assisted livings. When working in a care center I realized something was missing and wanted to receive my CDM, CFPP.

What are your main responsibilities in your current position?

Main responsibilities are making the weekly menus, running the kitchen and dining room along with my dining room manager,

ordering food, meeting with the residents and letting them have a say in what they would like to see on the menus.

How do you organize your time at work to make sure you accomplish all your responsibilities?

My planner. My planner is like my bible to me. I write everything in it; my work responsibilities and my home life responsibilities.

What is an example of an innovative way you have made change at your facility and how did you implement it?

Even though I have only been at my current job a few months, it is a continuous work. I enjoy my current job and my staff.

What was your first job in the foodservice industry?

I started out in long term care at 16 years old as a dishwasher in the kitchen to a culinary director.

Who has been your biggest mentor in foodservice and how have they helped shape your career?

I worked with an administrator in long term care who taught me so much and helped me get through a CDM, CFPP course. Even though I don’t work with him anymore, everything he has taught me I still think about.

What are the biggest challenges you face in your position and how do you handle them?

Staffing. These days everybody is fighting for the same people in the working world of foodservice. The staff I have I appreciate every single one of them. I wouldn’t be able to keep the kitchen up and running if it wasn’t for them.

What is your favorite part of your job?

The residents. I learn so much from the residents through their stories and life experiences.

How do you stay up to date with current innovations and trends?

I am always looking up new ideas and staying up to date with food codes.

How do you envision the foodservice industry changing in the next few years?

I envision residents are going to be more health conscious and want more of a say in their food choices.

What is your advice to those just getting started in the foodservice industry?

Keep learning and keep learning. I learn new things everyday in my career as a CDM, CFPP.