Shelly Sabatka:  Her Culinary Talents Help Make a Great Home

Shelly Sabatka, director of dining services for Mankato Lutheran Home and Sibley Manor, knows that culinary delights, are absolutely essential in creating a strong sense of home. Although she and her team prepare more than 400 meals per day, you will find each one prepared with care.

Home, quality, and variety guide Shelly and her team. Among the items you'll find on her menus are chicken stir fry, shrimp, prime rib, baked salmon, sour cream chicken enchiladas and scrumptious chocolate ganache cake. The menus change daily. When you eat at Mankato Lutheran and Sibley Manor, you receive a menu with a variety of options and a wait staff takes your order and serves you. Shelly always incorporates multiple options and personal service. For example, breakfast-to-order includes options from cereals to omelets, waffles, pancakes and french toast, bacon, sausage and other items.

Looking to share their talents, and expose more people to Mankato Lutheran and Sibley Manor, Shelly and her team created a catering service called "Gourmet Apron." (Their trademark red aprons are pretty cool.) Gourmet Apron has catered a number of major events, including a Mankato March of Dimes Chef auction of nearly 1,000 people. The catering service helps expose more people to the wonderful communities at Mankato Lutheran Home and Sibley Manor. Shelly likes to say that she has the best research and development team - the residents she serves every day.

"I find my work here so rewarding. I get to work with wonderful people and use my talents and interests to truly create home for people I care dearly about. It's such a tremendous experience."