Leavitt Family Jewish Home Welcomes New Dining Services Director

LONGMEADOW — JGS Lifecare’s nursing home, the Leavitt Family Jewish Home, welcomes Alexis Girhiny as dining services director, responsible for overseeing dining services at the home and at Ruth’s House Assisted Living Residence. As an experienced culinary instructor and executive chef, her culinary achievements bring a new dimension to JGS Lifecare’s kosher dining and banquet menus.

Girhiny brings 25 years of culinary experience to the JGS Lifecare campus. Formally trained at the Culinary Institute of America, she has spent much of her career training and developing culinary career staff. Most recently, Girhiny worked as a chef instructor for the Louisiana Culinary Institute in Baton Rouge, La. There, she provided hands-on training in culinary technique, preparation, and presentation. She also served as director of career services at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Boston, one of 30 Le Cordon Bleu schools worldwide.

“We’re proud to welcome Alexis to direct our dining services. She not only brings tremendous talent, enthusiasm, and experience to our culinary team, she also brings the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu brand name to our JGS Lifecare campus,” said Anne Thomas, vice president of residential health, JGS Lifecare. “She has a real passion for food that she can’t wait to share with our residents.”

Added Girhiny, “I love to cook, and I want to elevate the food we serve for our residents.”

In addition to culinary education, Girhiny brings executive chef and management experience locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally, including her own restaurant, AGB Corp, that was located on State Street in Springfield. She is ACF (American Culinary Federation) certified as an executive chef and also Serve Safe certified as an instructor proctor.

The Leavitt Family Jewish Home maintains a kosher food-service department. Fresh, nutritional meals and snacks follow current applicable federal, state, and local standards, guidelines, and regulations and are in accordance with Orthodox Jewish dietary laws. For more information about JGS Lifecare, visit jgslifecare.org.