Dished Senior Living Dining Innovation Awards: Adam Hrebiniak, Vice President Of Culinary Operations, Gallaher Signature Living

Adam Hrebiniak, Vice President of Culinary Operations at Gallaher Signature Living, has been named a member of the DISHED Senior Living Dining Innovation Awards Class of 2026 by Senior Housing News.

As an Elevating the Experience Award winner, Senior Housing News recognizes Hrebiniak for transforming the dining experience at Gallaher Signature Living’s flagship community, Varenna at Fountaingrove, into a fully integrated, hospitality-driven culinary program rooted in seasonality, regional sourcing, and experiential design.

By leveraging the rich agricultural landscape of Sonoma and Napa counties, Hrebiniak has developed menus that prioritize fresh, locally sourced ingredients while telling a story of place. His culinary philosophy blends fine dining techniques with a resident-centered focus, creating dishes with layered flavor profiles, refined presentation, and intentional storytelling.

A defining element of Hrebiniak’s leadership is his ability to elevate dining through collaboration with immersive, multi-sensory programming. Signature events, such as Vintage Strings, a wine-paired dining experience choreographed with live violin performance, and interactive experiences, like the Murder Mystery Dinner, where chef-led tasting menus enhanced intrigue and engagement, exemplify his innovative culinary approach. Regionally inspired dining showcases, for which the team has earned gold medals at the nationally recognized Sonoma County Harvest Fair, further connect residents to the culture and cuisine of the surrounding area, transforming dining into an experience that is as social and emotional as it is culinary.

Central to Adam’s success is his collaboration with the Experience & Lifestyle team, ensuring seamless integration between culinary, programming, and service. A standout example is the launch of the San Marino Bar’s all-day dining concept, introduced through a curated series of weekly culinary experiences. This strategic activation of dayparts significantly increased engagement and utilization while enhancing the overall social atmosphere.

Operationally, Hrebiniak aligns culinary innovation with disciplined execution. Through strategic menu engineering, waste reduction, and optimized kitchen workflows, he has improved efficiency and cost control while maintaining exceptional quality. His leadership fosters a culture of excellence, mentoring his team to think and perform as hospitality professionals, resulting in stronger engagement, retention, and pride in their work.

Hrebiniak’s nominator tells Senior Housing News, “Driven by an entrepreneurial mindset, Adam continuously pilots and refines new concepts, ensuring the dining experience remains dynamic, relevant, and differentiated. Grounded in ethics and professionalism, he maintains a strong commitment to inclusivity, consistency, and personalized service. Through his leadership, dining at Varenna has become a defining element of the overall experience — elevating not only meals, but the quality of life within the community.”

Senior Housing News recent sat down with Hrebiniak to learn what drew him to the senior living industry, his perspective on culinary trends, his thoughts on the future of dining in senior living, and much more. To learn more about the DISHED Senior Living Dining Innovation Awards, visit https://dishedawards.seniorhousingnews.com/.

SHN: What inspired you to pursue a career in senior living dining, and what continues to motivate your work today?

Hrebiniak: My career began in some of the country’s most respected kitchens, where I had the privilege of training under chefs like Wolfgang Puck, Michael Mina, and Nancy Oakes. I also had opportunities to cook for U.S. Presidents and dignitaries, and I loved the intensity and creativity of fine dining. But over time, I realized that while restaurants create memorable evenings, senior living has the power to improve someone’s life every single day. That realization changed my career.

Today, as Vice President of Culinary Operations for Gallaher Signature Living, my mission is to bring restaurant-quality cuisine and genuine hospitality into senior living. At Gallaher, we believe dining is not simply a service, it’s the heart of the community. Every meal is an opportunity to improve wellness, create meaningful connections, and give residents an experience they genuinely look forward to.

What motivates me today is building teams that share that vision. Watching chefs grow into leaders, mentoring future talent, and helping redefine what senior living dining can become is every bit as rewarding as creating a great meal.

SHN: What are the top three trends shaping the future of dining in senior living right now?

Hrebiniak: First is the evolution from food service to hospitality. Residents today expect experiences that rival great restaurants, chef-driven menus, personalized service, flexible dining hours, beautiful presentation, and spaces where they want to gather. At Gallaher Signature Living, that’s exactly the culture we’re building.

Second is food as medicine. Nutrition is becoming a vital part of resident wellness. Communities are investing in fresh, seasonal ingredients, scratch cooking, brain-health initiatives, anti-inflammatory menus, and individualized nutrition programs that support longevity without compromising flavor.

Third is technology and operational intelligence. Digital production systems, AI-assisted forecasting, inventory management, and resident preference tracking will allow culinary teams to become more efficient while creating increasingly personalized dining experiences. Technology should free our teams to spend more time doing what matters most, engaging with residents.

SHN: What is the biggest barrier to innovation in senior living dining today, and how can organizations effectively overcome it?

Hrebiniak: The greatest barrier isn’t budget or equipment. It’s mindset.

Too many organizations still view dining as a department rather than a defining part of the resident experience. Innovation requires leadership that sees culinary as a strategic advantage rather than an operational necessity.

At Gallaher Signature Living, we’ve intentionally built our culinary philosophy around hospitality, restaurant-quality dining, and resident choice. We’ve standardized systems where consistency matters while still giving our chefs room to be creative with local ingredients and seasonal menus.

Organizations overcome this barrier by investing in people. When leaders mentor their teams, encourage creativity, provide continuous education, and empower chefs to think like hospitality professionals instead of institutional foodservice managers, innovation becomes part of the culture rather than an occasional initiative.

SHN: In one word, how would you describe the future of dining in senior living – and why?

Hrebiniak: Elevated.

Senior living dining is no longer defined by institutional expectations. The future is about elevated hospitality, elevated wellness, elevated culinary talent, and elevated resident experiences.

Our goal at Gallaher Signature Living is simple, to ensure impeccable food and service for an impeccable team. Every interaction should reflect restaurant-quality hospitality while supporting health, dignity, and quality of life.

Dining will increasingly become one of the primary reasons residents choose a community.

SHN: How do you see technology transforming dining operations and the resident experience in the next few years?

Hrebiniak: Technology will fundamentally change how culinary teams operate, but I don’t believe it will ever replace hospitality.

Artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics, inventory management, production planning, digital recipes, and food safety platforms will make operations significantly more efficient. We’ll waste less food, make better purchasing decisions, optimize labor, and better anticipate resident preferences before they even ask.

At Gallaher Signature Living, technology is helping us build scalable systems across multiple communities while allowing our chefs to focus on creativity and guest engagement rather than paperwork.

The greatest value technology provides isn’t automation. It’s giving people more time to connect with residents. Because hospitality will always be our greatest competitive advantage.

SHN: Reflecting on your career, if you could give yourself advice on your first day in senior living dining, what would it be and why?

Hrebiniak: I’d tell myself to spend less time trying to impress people and more time listening to them.

Coming from fine dining, I naturally focused on food, technique, and raising culinary standards. While those things remain incredibly important, I eventually learned that success in senior living begins with understanding the residents, their stories, and what dining truly means to them.

I’d also remind myself that leadership isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about building trust, mentoring others, staying humble, and never forgetting that the best ideas often come from the people working beside you every day.

Looking back, those lessons shaped me into a far better leader than any culinary technique ever could.

SHN: What qualities or leadership traits do you think DISHED Senior Living Dining Innovation Award winners must embody?

Hrebiniak: Innovation begins with curiosity, but it’s sustained by leadership.

The leaders who deserve recognition are those who combine culinary excellence with humility, operational discipline, and an unwavering commitment to serving others. They challenge conventional thinking while remaining deeply connected to their residents and teams.

Throughout my career, from Michelin-level restaurants to leading culinary operations across multiple senior living organizations, I’ve learned that lasting innovation isn’t about creating the newest trend. It’s about creating systems, cultures, and experiences that consistently improve people’s lives.

Award winners should be mentors, collaborators, lifelong learners, and leaders who understand that their greatest legacy won’t be the menus they create, it will be the people they develop and the lives they positively impact.

I’ve been fortunate to cook for esteemed politicians, celebrities, and distinguished guests throughout my career, but I’ve come to realize that the most important person I’ll ever cook for is the resident sitting across the table. At the end of the day, no standing ovation or five-star review compares to hearing a resident smile and say, “That tasted just like home.”

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