An average of 80 seniors a day dine on Sandra Madriles’ inspired cooking
Published in the November 11-24, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Sandra Madriles, nutrition coordinator for the Senior Cafe, serves barbecue ribs at the Halloween-themed lunch Oct. 30. She and her staff served about 120 meals to local seniors that day. The Senior Center asks for a $3 donation from seniors 60 years or older for the lunches.
Photo by Marty Cheek
Mondays through Fridays, lunch time at Morgan Hill’s Centennial Recreation Center’s Senior Cafe is a fun time for the senior citizens who enjoy hot-cooked meals and the companionship of others. This is thanks in large part to Sandra Madriles, the nutrition coordinator who, with assistance from her kitchen crew, whips up delicious meals served in the Senior Center.
Seniors participating in the program can enjoy dishes such as ginger chicken breast served on chow mein with steamed broccoli, hearty beef stew, chicken enchilada casserole, pork roast and gravy, spaghetti with meatballs, minestrone soup, and Madriles’ signature dish, barbecue pork ribs. The menu changes daily and can be found on-line on the city of Morgan Hill’s website.
Once a month or so, the Senior Cafe puts on a special event for lunch, such as the recent Halloween-themed lunch where guests were encouraged to participate in a costume contest and prizes were given for the best decorated table.
Madriles started working as a cook at the Senior Cafe in 2007. Since then she has rose in ranks to manage the popular senior lunch program. Assisting her are cook Hilda Rosales and kitchen helpers Sonia Quezeda and Irma Valdavinos.
“I love it. This is my life. I’ve been working with seniors for almost 13 years,” she said. “They make my life blessed. I work with my heart to see them happy. When they tell me how much they appreciate what I do for them, that makes me so happy. And then to see them, to provide the healthy meals for them, that’s a really important part of my life.”
Madriles didn’t learn how to cook when she grew up in Mexico. Thirteen years ago, she got a job as a dishwasher working at Morgan Hill’s Pacific Hills Manor. One day her boss came up to her and told her the cook was sick and asked her to prepare the lunch for the patients.
“I don’t know how to cook,” she said. “I burned the food. We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that day.”
But over time, she learned how to come up with delicious cuisine concoctions in the kitchen, she said.
“The thing is, when I learned how to cook, I tried to do day by day something new,” she said. “Now I love cooking.”
The Senior Cafe gives the people who take part in the lunch a place where they can meet old friends, or make new ones. Many of them play card games after lunch or find other ways to amuse themselves. This friendship aspect is important for the seniors because it gives them a fun place to socialize during the day, Madriles said.
“When we close on certain days for a holiday, I worry about them. I think, will they eat today or do they have enough food at home?” she said. “It is really important that we provide the healthy food that they’re happy with.”
John Camisa, a Morgan Hill resident for 38 years, comes twice a week to the Senior Center for exercise sessions Tuesdays and Fridays. Afterward, he enjoys lunch at the Senior Cafe. He proclaims Madriles’ barbecue ribs “fantastic” and says they’re always a hit with the seniors.
“They’re done with love. I don’t know how she does it, but they’re just super — really, really good,” he said.
“I’m so lucky, and I’m so blessed to be part of the Senior Cafe in Morgan Hill,” Madriles said.
