Many of the residents who live in the Massachusetts continuing care retirement community The Commons in Lincoln are retired professors from MIT or Harvard. A high degree in education is something the newly promoted Campus Culinary Services Director Chef Nina Quirk has in common with those residents.
Quirk earned a master’s degree in gastronomy from Boston University, and that, along with growing up in a restaurant family with an Italian grandma, has shaped her philosophy that centers on intentionality, seasonality and whole ingredients.
Graduate studies for her centered on “grandma cuisine,” aka “immigrant food,” and Quirk says she has always been drawn to the old souls among us.
When she interacts with residents, her focus is still on learning.
“I look my residents in the face and say, ‘That’s what I’m providing,’” she says. “I’m very face-forward and I never make an empty promise. I listen to what they like and don’t like and I have to deliver. Once you build that trust, the sky’s the limit.”
Quirk is known as the Salad Queen.
Listening to people’s “food voices” is a skill Quirk has honed into some great results, including more seasonal dishes for residents and even representing The Commons at the Newport Food & Wine Festival last summer with a wow-worthy wine pairing educational event.
She makes note of the items that make individuals smile. When she sees a certain CEO coming, she grabs a Diet Coke and some chocolate chip cookies every time. “When I find peoples’ interests, I love to put it back through the food.”
Quirk is also tuned into sustainability. One of her main interests is gardening. She’s trying to get a garden going at the 7-acre farmhouse and barn she’s rehabbing right now, but thankfully there are gardens at The Commons she works on with residents. There are a couple of ladies in particular that she considers her garden friends.
“When you walk outside, there is a garden landscape with pollinator gardens and wildflower gardens, and it’s all about sustainability,” she says, mentioning the lemon verbena that goes into tea and other recipes.
One successful event, a garden party, brought together landscape and gardening committees for botanical theme with tea sandwiches, pastries and desserts.
“It’s super fun to play into the theme as a gardener and lover of all things nature and to put together a menu that reflects that,” Quirk says.
Seasonal boards keep getting better and better at The Commons.
Her signature dish (stay tuned for more on this) is salad. “I’m known to be a salad queen,” she says. “Growing up, my parents didn’t buy processed foods, so I’d come home from school and make salads and make my own dressing.”
At The Commons, a signature salad is offered every night, featuring herbs from the garden when possible. “I’m constantly praised for that salad,” Quirk says, adding that she’s looking forward to a season of more fresh ideas for the residents she serves.
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