Vol. 26 No. 6
Visit us on the web: www.lifeafter50online.com
July 2016
Coalition helps Chef extraordinaire Sigi Krauss train people who ... keeps cooking work with seniors away at age 80 By Jeanne Davant
By Becky Hurley
L
ike many great achievers, Pikes Peak region culinary superstar Chef Siegfried “Sigi” Krauss’ has surmounted his share of challenges. As a boy, he fled devastated post WWII East Germany – his family’s home – in order to study under some of the world’s top Chefs de Cuisine. “Economic circumstances and (tough) political conditions after the war left few choices for a 14-year-old male student on the losing side,” he recalls, adding that many of his friends and classmates were sent to work in uranium mines or shipyards under hazardous conditions. He had hoped to go to Switzerland to study under a great chef, but when a Soviet Labor Commissioner showed up at his classroom and gave him only three options. Armed with the broken Russian – one of four languages he’s learned -- and plenty of courage, he became a Cook’s Apprentice at a Moscow hotel. There he learned the basics of his craft. Krauss eventually obtained a visa to work as a “Chef de Party” at a Hilton hotel in Havana, Cuba during Batista’s dictatorship. Within months, however, the government was overthrown and the Hilton was suddenly occupied by Fidel Castro and his revolutionary soldiers. “They would come in with bullets strapped across their chests and we
See CHEF, page 5
Perhaps best known as the founder and owner of the Briarhurst Manor Inn in 1974, Sigi Krauss went on to achieve his industry’s highest honors and was named 2014 “Chef of the Year.”
You probably know about Silver Key Senior Services, the Colorado Springs Senior Center and other organizations that serve older people. The Colorado Coalition for Elder Rights and Abuse Prevention doesn’t provide any direct services to seniors, but it might play an important role in your well-being. “We are a training We are a training resource for profesresource for sionals working with professionals seniors,” says Sheri working with Gibson, chair of the coalition’s steering seniors. committee. “Increasing - Sheri Gibson knowledge and skill Colorado Coalition for sets around a range of Elder Rights and topics that could Abuse Prevention prevent abuse or steering committee mistreatment or just chair upholding the rights of our older citizens adds impact to our communities. When we support people who are the ground, we are promoting a healthy, balanced community. We see a lot of potential to help professionals to do the job they do.” Furthermore, the trainings offer specialized, in-depth information that professionals serving seniors may not have gotten in their prior education. The coalition provides four free trainings a year on topics such as professional challenges in detecting and reporting elder abuse, compassion fatigue, and physiological and psychosocial aspects of aging. Coming up July 13 is a training on
See COALITION, page 6
Cool down utility bills Center helps households save money, energy See Page 7