Tuesday at lunch, emotions boiled over. Some residents complained but wouldn't put their names to it. Not Ray Noel.

The former Army Air Forces bomber pilot, who flew B-24s against the Japanese in World War II, told The Maui News he doesn't mind making a fuss.

On Tuesday, many of the 135 residents sat down at noon, with each expecting to be served a meal of chicken cacciatore, salad, fresh fruit and dessert. Nothing. By 1:30 p.m., they got a choice of a cheeseburger or a hot dog.

Floyd Gridley, who was eating in his room with his wife because she was ill, definitely didn't want fries with his meal, but that's what he got.

Linda Simeon of the retirement home's owner, Holiday Retirement in Salem, Ore., explained how the problem occurred. Just before serving time, she said, someone spilled meat juice in the vegetables.

That did not meet quality or safety standards for Holiday, she says, so the staff scrambled to find substitutes. Which turned out to be fast food.

However, the complaints about the preparation, amount and quality of the food go back to mid-December.

After Noel got about 50 names on a petition of complaint, Jeff Roderick of Holiday's resident relations department, wrote Noel on Dec. 19 that the regional director had "confirmed that issues with meal service existed, and that steps to resolve (them) are being actively implemented."

Noel, Gridley and other residents say they have not seen any improvement. If anything, Tuesday marked a new low.

Co-manager Dana Ward said Thursday that the background was complicated.

She has been at Kalama Heights since 2004, originally as activities director, then co-manager, then manager, and now co-manager again.

The new managers, a couple who had worked in California, are now on a training course in the Bahamas, so Ward has had to cope with the complaints since before Christmas.

Kalama Heights had the same chef for more than three years, she says, and he "promoted from within."

Noel confirmed that a dishwasher ended up as sous chef.

Ward says a number of other kitchen employees were promoted.

When the former chef resigned in October, Holiday brought in one of its regional chef managers temporarily. He oversaw the hiring and training of a new chef, who took over in mid-December.

That's when the food service suddenly deteriorated, say Noel and Gridley.

Items on the menu did not appear. Food was served late. Fresh fruit was no longer on the tables. And, often there wasn't enough dessert to go around.

Ward says it turned out that the old chef had not really trained the people he promoted.

"They were just plating the food." He still did the cooking.

Simultaneously, in mid-December Kalama Heights changed its food vendor.

"That hasn't worked out," says Ward.

The new supplier has not been able to deliver what was ordered.

Ward turned back to the old supplier, VIP Foodservice, to cover the gaps. She says that as of Monday, VIP will return to being the sole supplier.

Noel, a businessman who owned his own company in California, says he believes some of the changes were driven by new owners of Holiday, Fortress Investment Group of New York.

He wrote Fortress Chief Executive Wesley Edens, saying: "We understand that the managers of Holiday would like to improve the ROI (return on investment) picture to you, but they have gone way overboard on reducing the quality of the products served.

"As a consequence, a number of seniors do not eat the food but order ice cream and cake for both dinner and supper, which must be very detrimental to their health.

"We all feel cheated."

On Thursday, Noel said Kalama Heights also has canceled the bus to church and other destinations.

But he said food is the main cause of complaint.

"We don't cook anymore," says his neighbor Gridley, who is 90. "The most important thing they have here is the dining room."

Ward says she is working to correct the problems. Food service staff members have been told they are under scrutiny, and their performances will be documented. She is also seeking assistance from Holiday's corporate staff.

The chain has more than 3,000 retirement homes. Kalama Heights is not a nursing or assisted-care home.

Residents mostly eat in the ground-floor dining room, although they can ask that their meals be served in their rooms.

In a studio like Noel's, there is no kitchen, just a small refrigerator and a sink. He pays $2,300 a month.

Noel says he used to live in another Holiday retirement home in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He didn't like the food there, either.

He moved to Maui after his wife died. His four children and 12 grandchildren all live on the Mainland.

Neither Noel nor Gridley has anything negative to say about Ward.

She says the residents "are my number one concern."

When the new managers were appointed, she chose to become a co-manager, rather than move with her husband away from Maui, because, "I have been here four years. They (the residents) are my only family."