Richmond Flowers has been named director of culinary services of Legacy Village of Cleveland, an assisted living and memory care community serving Bradley County scheduled to open in fall 2018.
"In his new role, Chef Flowers will ensure the residents of Legacy Village consistently receive healthy, great-tasting meals while interacting with them to make certain they have quality dining experiences. Flowers will also oversee the recruiting and training of food service employees at Cleveland’s beautiful new senior living facility," officials said.
Chef Flowers comes to Legacy Village of Cleveland with decades of culinary mastery, both as an executive chef in private and institutional settings and a culinary arts instructor.
After studying Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales College, Chef Flowers began his professional career as executive chef in Tifton, Ga. He recently served as the campus executive chef at Lee University and spent several years as executive chef and owner of a two successful local restaurants.
He devoted more than a decade to teaching three levels of culinary arts at Bradley Central High School. Under his leadership, the school was recognized by Sullivan University for offering one of the nation’s top 50 secondary culinary programs. Also, that program has been designated an exemplary program by the State of Tennessee.
“Our seniors will love what Richmond brings to their tables. He’s proven himself many times over as a chef, leader and mentor in Cleveland’s food and restaurant community. We are so thrilled and blessed to have him on our team,” said Bryan Cook, COO of Legacy Senior Living, management company of Legacy Village of Cleveland.
Chef Flowers, whose father and grandfather spent their last years in senior communities, said he understands what it’s like to need others to guarantee your loved ones receive the best possible care.
“I want each of our residents to know they matter, that their likes and dislikes are heard and I will make sure they are taken care of,” Chef Flowers said. “I want families that entrust our team to take care of their loved ones to know that they matter. I want to make a difference in their lives.”
He said the the best part, of preparing delicious meals is seeing guests enjoy it. “When I create a dish, I like to use what I call back flavors, kind of like secret ingredients. These are the flavors that make a guest wonder ‘what's in this?’ Typically I use classical techniques and deconstruct those into individual components that in the end create the same flavor profile as the dish would have as a whole,” he said.
Chef Flowers and his wife, Melissa, live in Cleveland with their children Chandler, Mackenzie and Gabe. They attend Maple Street Baptist Church and are involved in church outreach projects and other community initiatives. He enjoys working outdoors around his home, traveling and eating at a variety of restaurants.