Yes, (Top) Chef!’ Culinary competition brings residents, staff together for scrumptious shindig
January 21, 2026
Chef Pam Ballard made an edible dark chocolate coffee cup dessert featuring Kahlua-soaked devil’s food cake, avocado chocolate mousse and espresso crème. (Photo courtesy of Liberty Senior Living)
Author: Foster Stubbs
Publication: McKnight Senior Living
Article Link: Full article
Wilmington, NC-based Liberty Senior Living is known for its Liberty Games, a competition among its community residents, but the organization recently hosted another competition for its culinary staff. The inaugural Liberty Top Chef Competition took place in December at The Barclay at SouthPark in Charlotte, NC, and drew in chefs, residents and travelers alike.
“We wanted to gear this more toward staff having that [Liberty Games-type] competition and that sense of they’re representing their community and the residents behind them,” Haley Norris, Liberty’s INSPIRE wellness and enrichment coordinator, told McKnight’s Senior Living. “I know that we had a resident from Florida actually fly up to Charlotte to support her chef.”
Chef Pam Ballard, left, was named the winner of the inaugural Liberty Senior Living Top Chef award. (Photo courtesy of Liberty Senior Living)
After a series of regional rounds, chefs and culinary staff members from 10 different Liberty communities were invited to compete, with five teams making it into the final round to compete for a grand prize of $5,000. Entries were judged on creativity, presentation and flavor by a panel that included Liberty leaders, a representative from the resident dining committee, and guest chef Jerry Lanuzza, an associate professor at Johnson & Wales University. The final rounds featured appetizers, followed by dessert made by the remaining three finalists.
According to Liberty Senior Living Corporate Culinary Service Specialist Bobby Senter, the entries were not only easy on the stomach but easy on the eyes as well.
“All in all, people eat with their eyes first,” Senter told McKnight’s Senior Living. “If it doesn’t look good, they’re probably going to go into the mindset of ‘It’s not going to taste very good.’ But all the plate presentations were just outstanding. The judges seemed very impressed with everything that was put out.”
Each recipe came with a personal connection as well. Norris noted that one chef, coming from a Florida community, chose to make key lime pie because it was a reminder of his travels and the flavors evoked by those memories.
“Each community and each chef put their own spin on it,” Norris said. “[The chef] talked about what [key lime pie] means to him and where he took those flavors from and the different trips and travels that he has gone on. Same with a couple of the other finalists, saying what that menu meant to them and what that food meant to them. I think they brought in their own spin on it, also.”
Chef Pam Ballard of South Bay at Mount Pleasant in Mount Pleasant, SC, ultimately earned the title of Liberty’s Top Chef with a rare perfect score. Her entries included pan-seared scallops, forbidden rice, a tempura crab and caviar appetizer and an after-dinner edible dark chocolate coffee cup dessert featuring Kahlua-soaked devil’s food cake, avocado chocolate mousse and espresso crème.
Senter described the event as a huge success and said he was impressed by the large turnout. Based on how the competition went this year, he anticipates an even tastier sequel next year.
“I think it’s a good bonding opportunity for the kitchen leaders and their staff as a whole,” Senter said. “It gives the residents a different angle of seeing their chefs. Going back to the South Bay, their crowd was huge. There was a good number of people that showed up for the first round. I expect next year the crowd to be even bigger.”