6 Crazy Dishes of the Adventurous Eaters Society

A snout-to-tail dinner. An exploration of molecular gastronomy. A few courses of wild game. If you were thinking this is an itinerary for young foodie hipsters, you’d be wrong. It’s actually a list of recent meals enjoyed by a group of daring senior citizens who reside at Atria El Camino Gardens, in Carmichael, Calif.

They’re part of the Adventurous Eaters Society, and they’re willing to try just about anything, including beef heart taquitos, Creole alligator, cricket flan and more. Atria Senior Living puts on monthly dinners for the society at several of its locations across the country.

Atria chefs cook all of the meals for groups of a maximum of 20 people, and the cooks enjoy the meals just as much as the residents, says Mika Stevenson, director of culinary services, Atria Stony Brook, one of the locations with an Adventurous Eaters Society.

“It really ignites their culinary passion to get to try new food items that they’ve never prepared before,” Stevenson says.

There’s a core group of eight Adventurous Eaters at Atria El Camino, the first residents to join, known as the “key members.” After the first initiation dinner, they received the keys, which give them access to all the dinners, even if they’re booked up.

“The key was a gift for their willingness to try anything once and take the plunge with me at the first dinner,” says Justin Cherman, chef and director of culinary services at Atria El Camino.

The adventurous diners enjoy out-of-the-ordinary fare like Boar Bacon Wrapped Dates with Blue Cheese and Creole Alligator (at the Wild Game Dinner); Lobster and Slow Poached Egg in a Mason Jar (at the Molecular Dinner); Lamb Tongue Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter and Parmesan (at the Lamb and Mint Dinner); and the Truffle Digger Salad with Head Cheese and Crispy Pig Ear (at the Snout-to-Tail Dinner).

Cherman is planning the next meal already, a Mexi-Cali feast that will feature Beef Heart Taquitos, Sweet Breads in Mole Sauce, Menudo (tripe) and Flan with Caramel Glazed Crickets.