Charlie was born and raised in Bar Harbor, Michigan where he and his sister lived with extended family. Charlie became interested in food at a young age. He fondly remembers cooking with his grandmother when he was six years old and stealing the cookies they made together. He also enjoyed picking apples and cherries in the local orchards.
Charlie started college planning to major in civil engineering but realized that he loved to cook while waiting tables at a local restaurant, Captain Nicks, and being pulled in one evening to be a line cook. He went on to earn a business management degree from the University of Maine and attended culinary school in Maine as well.
Charlie moved to New Hampshire and worked at the Lake Sunapee Country Club in New London. He was then hired to be the Executive Chef at Café Nouveau in Eastman, New Hampshire and later at the Quechee Club in Vermont. He took a sabbatical but missed cooking and came to work for our assisted living community, Harvest Hill, as a chef. When the Executive Chef position became available at APD’s independent living community, The Woodlands Senior Living, he jumped at the opportunity.
Charlie loves to cook and try new menu items at The Woodlands, but most of all he loves our residents.
“They are a group of great people with great stories,” Charlie says.
Chef Barnes recently expanded the dinner menu to offer more variety for residents. They now have added options to mix and match and pick and choose from. Buying local ingredients is paramount to Charlie, and he uses seasonal products to support local farms.
When he is not busy in the Harvest Hill kitchen whipping up fresh, healthy, and delicious fare for the residents, Charlie enjoys working on hot-rods, boating, fishing, and cross-country skiing. Every night he looks forward to tucking his eight-year-old son into bed.
