A culinary competition of professional chefs was held July 29 at Heritage Southfield, a Brookdale Senior Living independent living community located in Southfield, MI.

Ultimate Chef America involved culinary professionals from 10 regional senior living communities, hosted 800 guests, and earned area senior living chefs awards for taste, creativity and presentation. Culinary experts from Brookdale Senior Living, an owner and operator of senior living communities, had two hours to produce four courses with the theme of healthy cooking. Two teams of four chefs participated.

Celebrity judges included:

· Leeza Gibbons, media personality, founder of The Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation, and author of Take Your Oxygen First;

· Kevin O'Neil, CMD, FACP, of Internal Medicine and Geriatrics and Medical Director of Brookdale Senior Living;

· Dave Rozema, a former Detroit Tiger and Major League Baseball pitcher;

· Dino Ciccarelli, professional hockey player who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League and was recently inducted into its Hall of Fame; and

· Evelyn Shepherd, 88-year-old resident of Heritage Southfield.

"The Ultimate Chef America event in Detroit dazzled and delighted our attendees and participants," said Joska J.W. Hajdu, senior vice president of dining services for Brookdale Senior Living. "The culinary competition showcased the creativity and talent of our dining services professionals. Healthy cooking for seniors was truly taken to a new level."

In addition, art created by residents of Brookdale Senior Living communities across the nation was auctioned at the Ultimate Chef America event. Proceeds of this auction, which totaled more than $11,000, went to the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation.

"The crowd in Detroit was huge and they all came ready to cheer on their favorite chefs, sample great cuisine, learn new things and contribute to our foundation," said Gibbons. "The silent auction featured one of my new favorites: the Hands of Wisdom original painting featuring residents' hand prints on canvas. Our foundation is not only blessed to receive the proceeds from these special events, but we are exceptionally grateful for our growing friendships."