5 hospital chefs compete for gold with plant-forward recipes

Health Care Culinary Contest finalists revealed, winner to be announced at CleanMed

From traditional meals like Shoyu poke, korma, and birria reimagined to delicious, one-of-a-kind culinary delicacies like butternut squash farrotto and a sweet potato crunch bowl, our top five have gone above and beyond to redefine comfort food.

Up next, students, chefs, and their professors at the College of Food Innovation & Technology at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island will cook, plate, and judge the recipes.

Meet the chefs, and hear the stories behind their delicious plant-forward recipes.

NYU Langone Health’s butternut squash & green pea farrotto

Rich and creamy butternut squash and green pea farro served with toasted sunflower seeds and sage pesto

“At NYU Langone Health, we are constantly looking for ways to make plant-based eating exciting, engaging, and delicious!” — Jeffrey Held

Hospital

NYU Langone Health in New York City

Chef

Jeffrey Held

NYU Langone Health’s Chef Jeffery Held with Dr. Mary Pat Gallagher

What is the story of your recipe?

At NYU Langone Health, we are constantly looking for ways to make plant-based eating exciting, engaging, and delicious! We love whole grains, especially ones that have been eaten all over the world for hundreds of years without genetic or chemical modification. In this recipe, we used farro and unlocked a very interesting technique. Farro is high in protein, iron, magnesium, and fiber, and when the hulls are cracked in the blender prior to cooking, you can prepare it just like risotto. By allowing the gluten to activate with continued stirring, you can create the rich and creamy texture of risotto. Unlike arborio rice, farro has a complex, nutty flavor and depth that can’t be recreated. Farro is also very low on the glycemic index, meaning it can help keep blood sugar spikes to a minimum and supply the body with continuous, long-term energy.

How did you feature your recipe?

We worked closely with an NYU physician and diabetes educator to develop this recipe. First, we featured the recipe on our cooking show Cooking for Wellness at NYU Langone. After publishing the episode on our intranet and YouTube channel, we posted the recipe card and added it to our digital display menus in the cafe. The dish was heavily promoted on online menus, our mobile ordering system, and digital displays in cafes.

Peace Health Saint Joseph’s Shoyu beet poke bowl

Roasted beets marinated in Shoyu sauce served over rice with pineapple chutney and garnished with radishes, carrot, avocado, macadamia nuts, edamame, cucumber, jalapeno, and sesame seeds

Beets are the new tuna.— Andy Nguyen

Hospital

Peace Health Saint Joseph in Bellingham, Wash.

Chef

Andy Nguyen

What is the story of your recipe?

This dish really tugs at my love of fresh #realfood and Hawaiian flavors. I absolutely love poke — the freshness, the vibrant flavors, and the versatility behind it all excites me. When I was working at the W hotel in Seattle, I worked for a chef that was very Hawaiian-influenced, so this dish is a nod to him. Also, it revolves around rice, which growing up was a big staple in our household. I think the concept behind it is familiar, but it eats meaty — which it’s not — as a vegetarian dish. It also attracts people as simple to make and allows them to try a lot of things like beets, which sometimes people do not necessarily gravitate to first, but cooking it in a way like Shoyu makes it familiar.

Shoyu sauce

How did you feature your recipe?

We highlighted it in our cafe and posted it on our Instagram page.

Stanford Hospital’s wild mushroom birria with black bean and almond arepas

An original version of a Mexican classic, this rich stew is made from wild mushrooms and dried chilies served over black bean and almond arepas, and finished with tangy slaw and toasted pumpkin seeds.

“The traditional birria dish symbolizes love, family, and comfort.” — Justin Rucobo

Hospital

Stanford Hospital in Stanford, Calif.

Chef

Justin Rucobo

Meet the chef

Growing up in a Canadian and Hispanic household, Rucobo sharpened his creativity with food at a young age. His passion for cooking paved the way to a long and fulfilling journey in the restaurant industry and eventually in health care, where he is continuously challenged to reimagine food as medicine.

What is the story of your recipe?

The inspiration for the recipe is rooted in my memories of family gatherings filled with stories, laughter, and good food. I recall fond memories of my grandmother and great aunts effortlessly preparing the traditional dish, bringing comfort and warmth during annual family reunions. Relatives would then gather around the table relishing togetherness. The traditional birria dish symbolizes love, family, and comfort for me.

How did you feature your recipe?

Stanford Health Care’s mission of healing humanity one patient at a time extends to our food as medicine philosophy. Healing through food that is sustainable and flavorful is our commitment to our patients and community.

Closing thoughts

Some comments from our guests include:

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System’s curry sweet potato power crunch bowl

This dish is a flavorful blend of spices, local seasonal vegetables, and grains featuring sweet potato, shallot, cauliflower, kale, grape tomatoes, chickpeas, and red peppers served over couscous, tossed in a house-made tahini dressing, and garnished with roasted pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.

“I love the use of the crunchy kale, the smoothness of the tahini, the pop of the chickpeas, the warmth of the curry, and the sweetness of the cranberries.” — Artina Lindsey

Hospital

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System in Spartanburg, S.C.

Chef

Artina Lindsey

Meet the chef

A Chicago native, Chef Artina Lindsey attended Johnson & Wales University and currently serves as an executive chef in health care. Starting her professional food career in 2006, Lindsey cut her teeth working in various facets of the business including corporate and special event catering, universities, hospitals, and racetracks. With experience working and traveling abroad to Japan, Germany, and the U.K. as well as numerous U.S. cities, Lindsey’s diverse culinary point of view focuses on regional, vegan, and plant-based cuisine. Lindsey enjoys working within disproportionately-impacted communities to help educate and share her love of vegan and plant-based cuisine and her custom spice blends and sauces. Lindsey is the founder and CEO of Pink Salt Chef, LLC, a 100% vegan and plant-based cuisine company, and the author of “Pink salt: An eclectic journey of alkaline veganism.” With a focus on the balance of heat and flavor, Lindsey, also known as “the spice queen,” specializes in education, special demos, catering, and a host of other services.

What is the story of your recipe?

This recipe is a culmination of community farmers and my sons. I work with local farms, especially those owned by people of color, to expose their harvest to the health care community. The farmers drop off baskets of produce for me to transform, which helps them market the endless possibilities of their amazing produce. We often use local produce on our salad bars and in retail production, and we sell the items to hospital staff.

How did you feature your recipe?

We featured it in our plant-based station, which has a different menu every day. We posted on the hospital’s internal communication boards and signs and spoke with staff directly to invite them.

Closing thoughts

In addition to this being a hit at the hospital, my sons enjoy this one sheet pan meal. I can pile on the vegetables, roast, and we are eating in about 30 minutes. There is minimal cleanup, and we can get on with our evening.

UW Health’s Afghan-style vegetable korma

This traditional Afgan stew is slow-cooked with garbanzo beans, peppers, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and green beans, and is seasoned with cilantro, turmeric, and coriander. It is served with basmati rice and naan bread.

“Being a refugee with a sick child in an unknown country can feel devastating. Our team is committed to helping by providing nourishing, culturally appropriate food for these patients and their families.” — Lisa Boté

Hospital

UW Health in Madison, Wis.

Chefs

Shekeba Samadzada and Dan Hess

What is the story of your recipe?

Many of us who work in health care food service bring restaurant hospitality to every shift. We believe it is an honor and a privilege to prepare and serve food that helps patients and family members feel nourished, welcome, and safe.

Shekeba Samadzada & Dan Hess with their dish

How did you feature your recipe?

In the week leading up to serving the vegetable korma, we shared in daily staff huddles, encouraging staff to eat something new. We didn’t focus on the fact that this dish does not contain meat. We highlighted that it’s a dish we serve to Afghan refugee patients and their families and that it’s made from one of our cooks’ recipes with locally-sourced produce. We posted on Facebook and Instagram to generate excitement for the korma and the culinary contest. Several of us emailed friends and coworkers in our buildings, inviting them to lunch and to try a new, plant-forward dish.

Closing thoughts

UW Health sits in the heart of the Midwest where dinners often feature meat and potatoes. In 2016, we made the conscious decision to serve more plant-forward options. We’re always encouraged when customers eat more plants.

Join us to celebrate the culinary contest winner and so much more this May in Kansas City at CleanMed.

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Health Care Without Harm seeks to transform health care worldwide so the sector reduces its environmental footprint and becomes a leader in the global movement.

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Health Care Without Harm

Health Care Without Harm seeks to transform health care worldwide so the sector reduces its environmental footprint and becomes a leader in the global movement.