Senior Center Director Shawn Daly has been at the center long enough to eat the food of several chefs and says that while some were better than others, there is no better time than now to come in and get some lunch.

“Right now, we’re on an upswing,” he said. “The food is really good.”

The reason is the center’s new chef, Charles Turner, who has been cooking lunches for the center’s nutrition program for a little more than two months now.

The secret, according to Turner, are the fresh ingredients and the love Turner puts into every meal.

“I come in, I make it from scratch,” Turner said this week, who called his southern-influenced style “Down home good food.”

Tuner has no formal training, but has been cooking all his life. Growing in a large family, Turner said he decided early-on it was better to help out in the food preparation before dinner than in the dishes clean-up after. By 15, he was working at the Metropolitan Grill in Seattle – back washing dishes, actually – to make his own money and decided that the restaurant industry was for him. He’s much happier now though with the stress of the restaurant life behind him.

Turner said it is his “love for the game” that makes his cooking special, that and bits and pieces of recipes stolen from family members.

“I take a little but from everyone,” he said with a big smile.

Already at the senior center, Turner has rolled out several family recipes to great success, including his mother’s beef stroganoff, creamy chicken and biscuits and chili recipes, which he said the seniors have “embraced.”

Earlier this week, Turner cooked up a big pot of chili, which despite coming from his Louisiana background, he tones down a bit for a wider palate. It’s still flavorful and has a bit of heat, but it won’t send you running for the milk jug. Part of the secret, he said, is knowing your audience and adjusting for them. For example, in many kitchens, salt is one of the major seasonings, but in a senior center, where there may be many dietary restrictions, Turner uses much less, instead he likes to pull a little extra flavor out with garlic powder.

“I’m really trying to please the seniors with my food,” he said.

Turner said he has his menus pre-approved by a nutritionist to make sure each plate has the right amount of proteins, vegetables and other nutrients, but otherwise, he gets to make the decisions about what he gets to cook and how he cooks it.

“I can do it how I like it,” he said. “I order all my own spices.”

Daly praised the fresh ingredients, something the center switched to about six years ago after having the program catered and mostly come as bulk foods to be heated up.

But the food is only one aspect of the nutrition program at the center. Daly said the program is one of the oldest and most successful at the center, averaging more than 60 each day and as many as 200 on holidays or special occasions and it allows many seniors to stay in their homes longer because it can guarantee at least one hot, healthy meal each day.

“Sometimes to come down to the senior center and get that nutritious meal, a lot of times it might be the only hot meal they get,” he said.

Daly also said the socialization of sitting and eating a round table with others can’t be overlooked either.

“The meal is only part of it,” he said.

For his part, Turner said cooking for 60 at a time is not bad and he actually hopes to see bigger and bigger groups lining up to get a taste of food he promises will all be fresh and delicious, food he would proudly serve himself and his family.

“That’s just me,” he said. “If I’m not going to eat it, you’re not going to eat it.”