Toni Scirica Rowe brings over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry to Galloway Ridge at Fearrington. Prior to joining Galloway Ridge, Toni was involved in the resort and hotel industry for eleven years, serving as the Chef at Pinehurst Centennial #8 as well as Food and Beverage Manager at Pinehurst Resort. She earned an Associate in Science Degree in Culinary Arts at Johnson and Wales University. Toni is a Certified Sous Chef with the American Culinary Association which she has been a member since 1994. She has held many board positions within her chapter including President, Apprenticeship Coordinator and Chef Child Chair. She is also a member of the National Restaurant Association and Dietary Managers Association.
Among the many initiatives that Toni has brought to Galloway Ridge is the Farmer’s Market Breakfast that is held each Saturday. This is a full breakfast featuring ingredients from local farms. She began this program as part of her love for the sustainable and local food sources.
“I love incorporating farm to table cuisine and sourcing local ingredients seasonally grown in North Carolina. We are featuring farm fresh eggs on our weekly Saturday breakfast from Harland’s Creek Farm in Chatham County. The local farm has planted a variety of vegetables for us to use later this year.”
Toni also contributes using her innovative and creative talents in developing new community partnerships. The Galloway Ridge – Chatham Artists Collaboration, is one such partnership, featuring local artists showcasing their artwork in our newly renovated Café. This partnership offers the opportunity to support the remarkable artistic talent in the community while creating and colorful and ever changing décor for Weathersfield Café. The art is on display for a three month rotation.
In addition to managing the Dining Department, Toni also plays an intricate role in partnering with the Sales and Marketing Department. She ensures their team has a menu crafted for entertaining prospective residents. She developed a “signature sweet” for Galloway Ridge that is hand delivered by the Chef to each guest at the end of their community tour to say thank you for visiting Galloway Ridge. She also assisted in creating the Chef on the Go program which is a live cooking demonstration to professional referrals by Galloway Ridge Chef to demonstrate the quality of the food while learning about the benefits Galloway Ridge has to offer their clients.
Galloway Ridge’s philosophy of Resident Centered, Employee Centric and Community Connected is supported by Toni’s weekly Resident’s Choice Program. This program allows residents the ability to suggest menu items for the Saturday feature and then vote on it the following week. The selected item (s) is placed on the menu the following week. This process takes two weeks from the time they make the suggestion to the time it is on the menu.
Also each month Chef Michael hosts an Epicurean Experience in which residents are invited to join him for lunch at the Chef’s Table to enjoy a specially created menu prepared just for them. It was created on the simple idea that strong relationships between family and friends flourish during the dining experience with a well prepared, creative meal. “Our goal is to create a relationship with each resident. We consider it an honor to be part of this community and look forward to getting to know them better,” said Rowe.
Training is high on the list for Toni. She offers daily line ups with both front & back of the house staff fostering Galloway Ridge’s Employee Centric concept. Toni adds, “Empowering staff with the ability to be the best they can be is fantastic because instead of being dictated to they are part of the creative process.” She adds, “For them to have ownership in what they do each day, they’re going to believe in it and prosper with it teaching others about our community.”
