A funny thing happened at the Estuary Council of Seniors in Old Saybrook just over a year ago.

Chef and Food Services Manager Aaron Pratt, who has worked at the Estuary for about five years now, was up for his review. His supervisor, Estuary Executive Director Stan Mingione, had planned to talk to him about the possibility of showcasing his talents to the wider community with occasional dinners. When they sat down, Mingione first asked Pratt if there was anything he’d like to talk about. He did. He wanted to discuss the possibility of showcasing his talents to the wider community with occasional dinners.

The Estuary’s Chef’s Dinners were born.

In 2019, there were three: in May, July, and October. Tickets were $55 and were limited to 32 guests. Each dinner had a seasonal theme: The May dinner showcased vegetables like asparagus and spring peas and ended with lavender panna cotta for dessert. In October, tables were decorated with autumn gourds and colors and featured comfort food, starting with an amuse bouche of a butternut squash and apple bisque and offering entrées of hearty meats like veal osso buco. Ingredients were locally sourced when possible.

Guests began the evening with a short tour of the facilities, ending in the Estuary’s dining room, whose windows overlook North Cove. The five-course meal followed, complete with wine and beer. Pratt came out between courses to talk about what the guests were eating, how the food was prepared, and its nutritional value. Mingione spoke about the Estuary and its offerings to seniors in the nine towns it serves in lower Middlesex County: Old Saybrook, Westbrook, Clinton, Essex, Chester, Deep River, Killingworth, Lyme, and Old Lyme.

The 2019 dinners are a thing of the past, but Mingione, Pratt, and Estuary Development Coordinator Heather Milardo will soon be planning four more for 2020. They hope at least one will be a farm-to-table dinner.

The point of the dinners, Mingione said, isn’t fundraising, although the proceeds do support the Estuary’s nutrition programs.

“We wanted to share our food service and nutrition program with the community and get the word out to the public about what we do,” Mingione said, adding that Pratt “is a wonderful chef—he and his team do a great job.”

Pratt has three staff members who work with him in the kitchen to prepare lunch, which is served to seniors at the Old Saybrook facility Monday through Friday. But they cook for many more than walk through their doors: lunches are prepared and delivered to Old Lyme Monday through Friday, to Clinton on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and to Killingworth on Wednesdays. All are available to those 60 and over for a $3 suggested donation. No membership is required.

The meals are funded with a federal grant distributed through local area agencies on aging. The menus must meet nutritional standards and are submitted to the state for approval two months in advance. Each meets one-third Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) requirements, as certified by the Estuary’s Meals on Wheels coordinator Laura Robbins, a registered dietary nutritionist.

The Estuary also provides a robust Meals on Wheels programs for those seniors in the community who are unable to travel.

“We have 200 volunteers here, including in our thrift shop,” Mingione said. “Our Meals on Wheels drivers who go out to the community and deliver the meals are super important to us and we couldn’t do what we do without them.”

Mingione said the last of the three 2019 dinners was the best of them all.

“We learned from the first one what we did well and what we didn’t do so well and I think we got it right on the third,” he said.

They surveyed participants after each dinner, asking what could be improved on, what they’d like at future dinners, and whether they’d come back. Everyone said they’d come back, according to Mingione.

“All said we’re doing a good job and they can’t wait for the next one,” he said.

The most frequent request, he said, was a larger dessert.

For more information on the Estuary Council of Seniors and its programs, visit www.ecsenior.org.