The Westview News

Press Release
Westview’s 1st Annual Employee Cook-off A Souper Hit
Date
October 24, 2013

On Wednesday, October 23, 2013, Westview Health Care Center in Dayville hosted its first Great Soup, Stew, Chili, Bisque and Chowder cook-off. Tables lined the Westview Employee Hall of Fame with the 17 contest entries submitted by employees. Crock pots filled with delicious concoctions were cradled in themed beds of items associated with the dish, to create a fun and inviting presentation.

Celebrity Guest Judges Gary and Karen Osbrey from WINY, Allen Granberg of Bellas Bistro, Jessica Jellison of Jessica Tuesdays/Fabulous Caterers and James Martin of 85 Main sampled the selections and presented the Judges Choice Award in “individual” and “team” categories. They judged according to flavor, consistency, aroma and color/presentation. After much deliberation and careful consideration, they awarded the individual category honor to employee Joye DeAngelis for her delicious Pumpkin Chicken Chili. The team award went to The Magic Chefs of the Westview Dietary Department for their Stone Soup.

“Gary and I truly enjoyed ourselves and were honored to be included among such esteemed judges as Allen, Jessica and James,” stated WINY Radio owner Karen Osbrey. “We were impressed by the diversity and high quality of the entries."

Staff attendees were responsible for judging the Peoples Choice Award by placing a voting ticket into the box associated with their favorite entry for both “individual” and “team” awards. The entry in the individual and team categories ending the day with the most tickets won bragging rights for the next year. The winner for the individual award was employee Annette Gancarz for her Fall Chili and the team award went to Team Therapy contestants Crystal Murray and Dyann Ferraro.

“We were very pleased to host our first employee cook off and certainly honored to have such high profile individuals from leading establishments like Bellas, 85 Main, Jessica Tuesdays/Fabulous Caterers and WINY judge our event,” remarked Administrator David T. Panteleakos. "Our Westview teams worked very hard to impress the judges for both the Judges Choice and Peoples Choice Awards and truly enjoyed this creative event.”

Prizes for both awards in each category included a gift card to Bellas Bistro, 85 Main, Jessica Tuesdays/Fabulous Caterers or Bed, Bath and Beyond, as well as an inscribed and stamped sterling silver serving spoon, created by artist Anita Yost of Ellington, Connecticut.

“I was delighted to be part of such a well orchestrated event,” explained Jessica Jellison owner of Jessica Tuesdays/Fabulous Caterers of Putnam. “It was wonderful to see such incredible spirit and participation among the staff. You can see that the employees really love where they work because after giving 110% to their jobs they then went home and went the extra mile to prepare an entry that they were so proud of. That truly says a lot about an organization.”

Westview Health Care Center is a 103-bed skilled nursing inpatient facility, which includes a distinct and self-contained 28-bed subacute short-term rehabilitation unit and an Outpatient Rehabilitation and Aquatic Center. Westview is proud to have received such accolades as US News and World Report America’s Best, Consumer Reports Top 10 Connecticut Nursing Facility rating and Health Grades 5-Star Top Ranking.