As the executive chef at Savannah Pines Retirement Community in Lincoln, Nebr., Tim LeCorgne
is known citywide by residents and friends for cooking up one heck of a
Mardi Gras celebration. It’s safe to say the Cajun runs hot in his blood.
Tim was introduced early in his life to the kitchen by his father, a Cajun
chef, who ran
numerous restaurants in New Orleans.
“The City of New Orleans had a profound effect on me during my upbringing and is the inspiration for most of what I do in the kitchen,” says LeCorgne. “It is such a unique food destination
that it made me want to try different flavors and experiment with different
types of food.”
Visiting restaurants in New Orleans was always intriguing; it drew Chef to the processes each chef used to create certain dishes.
He was enamored with the trial and error that eventually led to perfected menus.
Adhering to those same
trial and error methods, LeCorgne receives rave reviews from residents at Savannah Pines for his shrimp creole and bread pudding recipes.
Overall, the more important memories that left a lasting inspiration, involved family gatherings around crawfish boils.
“Whenever we had the chance to have the family together it involved crawfish. It was an all-day event of playing games in the yard, while we savored the smells of our food simmering,” recalls LeCorgne.
With picnic tables lined with newspapers, rolls of paper towels, and trashcans lined up, the lawn games would come to a halt when it was time to eat.
“When the crawfish were finished cooking, everybody made their way to the tables,” Chef Tim says. “We would have a huge table billowing with steam from the mass of crawfish, corn, sausage, potatoes, and onions. We would sit around the table laughing, eating, and listening to wonderful stories from several generations.”
While residents appreciate his southern-style, they’ve become accustomed to his dessert making abilities, too.
“Coming into my position with RLC, my goal was to master desserts,” admits LeCorgne. “Particularly, the overall presentation.”
At a chef conference hosted by RLC’s Home Office, LeCorgne learned the basics of using fondant to decorate cakes. He was hooked. In his free time, Chef Tim went all-in watching various videos online featuring some of America’s best bakers and dirtied quite a few dishes in the perfection process.
“I decided every month we celebrated a resident’s birthday, I
was going to attempt to make a cake that would impress royalty,” LeCorgne proclaimed. “I try to adhere to a theme associated with the particular month and roll with it.”
Chef LeCorgne’s dedication to detail in his desserts is something both residents and Chef look forward to every month.
“It is one
of the highlights of the month to wheel the cake around. It’s an absolute pleasure to see the delight in the residents’ faces,” LeCorgne says with a smile.
When he’s not cooking or baking confections to perfection, Chef Tim finds great joy catching the latest episodes of MasterChef Junior with his five-year-old daughter who shares his culinary passions. And, when time allows, to satisfy his traveling itch, Chef Tim ventures “home” with his family to New Orleans to explore the bayou for new and exciting restaurants, recipes, and celebrate the glory of Saints football.
“The greatest team in the history of the NFL is the New Orleans Saints. The fans are the most welcoming and know how to celebrate game days. It doesn’t matter who you cheer for—when you’re in the Superdome,
you’re family. Win or lose, the fans love their Saints and revel in showing opposing fans the true spirit of New Orleans!”
“Much like our family at Savannah Pines, when I’m in the kitchen and dining room with our Residents, I’m home!”
Download Chef Tim’s famous bread putting recipe
here.
