If he had to boil it down, Chef Mark Diller’s basic food philosophy is to “use the very best ingredients to achieve the best end product possible.” That’s exactly what he plans to do each day in the kitchens at Ann’s Choice.

Diller has been in the business 25 years, getting his start working with his mother who ran all the kitchens in the school district.

“She got me a job pushing a broom, but then they offered me ten cents more an hour to be a sauté cook, so I gave it a try,” he remembers. “After three months they liked what I was doing so they gave me a promotion.”

And the rest, as they say, is history. He’s covered every base, from short-order to fine dining, and he most recently worked in a place similar to Ann’s Choice where he was able to get to know the customers he was serving each night.

“I enjoy this business, and I also really enjoy working with residents and giving them what they want,” he said.
“When someone asks for something, I go out of my way to make it happen.”

He really enjoys the challenge of taking a favorite family recipe – typically yielding 4-6 portions – and altering it to serve 100 or more people. “A lot of them have come out nice enough to add to my mix of recipes,” he says.

In addition to comfort foods and traditional family favorites, Diller likes to create elaborate displays and showcase spreads that wow the residents and allow him to show off his professional culinary training. In any food display, he tries to create “a variety of choices and colors to speak to the eye and the palette,” he explains.