By MADELINE REIDA

Staff writer

You can’t please everyone, but Kathy Bernhardt, the cook at Marion Senior Center, does her best.

“They just did a survey for favorite meals, and our meatloaf took No. 1” Bernhardt said. “Fried chicken and country fried steaks were runners-up.”

Bernhardt, 73, retired from working for the state of Kansas nine years ago. Before she arrived as cook, the center temporarily was having its meals brought in.

“The meals were being cooked in Hillsboro and sent over here,” Bernhardt said. “I kept seeing this ad, needing a cook, and I can cook; I can follow recipes. Two years later, I’m still here.”

Bernhardt grew up in a large family, but otherwise had no experience cooking. It didn’t keep her from becoming the head cook at the center, where she works Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

“I’m in the kitchen the entire time, but that doesn’t mean I can’t talk to the seniors,” she said. “They tell me if they like the meal. They’ll also tell me if something’s wrong with it.”