10/07/2026
What if dining in senior living could be about more than nutrition?
Edible Orange County recently explored that question at Watermark Laguna Niguel, where Chef Ulises Fernandez and his culinary team are taking a thoughtful approach to food, hospitality and independence.
Watermark’s Gourmet Bites Cuisine program adapts familiar meals into easy-to-handle bites while preserving the flavors, ingredients and presentation residents enjoy. For residents living with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other conditions, that can mean something much bigger than a different way to eat. It can mean greater independence at the table.
As Chef Ulises shared in the feature, “For me, it is seeing a resident who may have difficulty using utensils still be able to sit at the table and enjoy a meal with greater independence.”
The feature also highlights the culinary team’s scratch-cooking philosophy, seasonal menus, relationships with local growers and suppliers, and the role residents play in shaping what is served.
Congratulations to Chef Ulises and the Watermark Laguna Niguel team on being featured on the cover of Edible Orange County and for showing how thoughtful dining can support not just quality of life, but independence and dignity.
