At about the same time Derek Ray opened his new restaurant in downtown Scottsbluff, LYFE House, he also became a food consultant at Northfield Retirement Communities in Scottsbluff. In the last four months, he’s been developing a completely new restaurant-style dining experience at NRC, including offering a bigger variety of options on the menu and also changing the way food is prepared by making everything from scratch. Ray said he’s excited about the dining changes that have been made and will continue to be made at NRC.
JEFF FIELDER Editor
SCOTTSBLUFF – When Derek Ray battled leukemia in his mid-teenage years, he couldn’t participate in many of the activities that other kids his age were doing, like sports.
In fact, during the four years he battled leukemia, he was bed ridden much of the time due to being sick and having a lack of energy. He also didn’t eat much in those four years.
When he did feel well enough to move around, one of the things he enjoyed doing was cooking – not just for himself but also for other people, including friends who would stop by his house in Chadron to check on him. They thoroughly enjoyed what he cooked, and that didn’t go unnoticed by Ray.
“I really got into cooking after seeing what food could do for other people’s emotions, especially how happy it could make them feel,” he said. “It really motivated me to want to get more involved in cooking – to give people something they really enjoyed.”
You can read the entire feature story in the July 2021 issue of Nspire Today! magazine. A one-year subscription (12 issues) is only $15. You may sign up for a subscription by sending $15 to Nspire Today!, P.O. Box 454, Scottsbluff, NE 69363, or you may pay with a credit card by calling 308-220-8865.
The current issue of Nspire Today! magazine is available at locations listed below.
