Meet America’s top hospital chef

Nina Curtis on plant-forward menus, COVID-19 in food service, and giving back

11 min readJul 28, 2020

The 2019 Health Care Culinary Contest challenged hospital chefs to create and serve a tantalizing new meal that celebrated the power of plants. Hospital chefs from across the country answered the call.

Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth teamed up with Menus of Change, an initiative of The Culinary Institute of America and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health to host the contest.

We are excited today to announce the winner and ask you to join us today in celebrating the winner, finalists, and all the participants. These dedicated professionals deserve recognition for their accomplishments in the contest and their essential work on a day-to-day basis. They strive to change the way people think about hospital food and to serve delicious meals that are healthy for people and the planet.

The winner

The grand prize winner of the 2019 Health Care Culinary Contest is:

Adventist Health’s Vitaliz haystack by Chef Nina Curtis

Nina Curtis is a longstanding champion of plant-forward cuisine. As the director and executive chef for Adventist Health, Vitaliz Café, and the culinary department, she creates innovative dishes and culinary programming shared across the health system and rooted in the Seventh-day Adventist tradition of plant-based eating.

In light of the cancellation of CleanMed 2020, where we planned to honor Curtis and serve her meal, Health Care Without Harm wanted a unique way to honor her accomplishment. With Curtis’ support, we made a donation to Placer Food Bank in her name. Placer Food Bank, a Feeding America member organization, works with 70 hunger relief organizations to serve communities across three counties. This year to date, Placer Food Bank has distributed more than 6.7 million pounds of food. Due to COVID-19, the food bank expects up to a 50% increase in demand.

“Adventist Health has a mission integration department. Giving back is a big part of our work. To have the opportunity to give back further — as a prize for winning the contest — feels very much in line with what Adventist Health does as an organization.”
— Health Care Culinary Contest winner, Nina Curtis

The Menus of Change Leadership Summit will feature Curtis in their virtual session “Advancing Healthy, Sustainable, Plant-Forward Menus in Health care Foodservice,” Aug. 19 at 10:45 a.m. PT.

The finalists

The 2019 Health Care Culinary Contest kicked off in October 2019. Submissions were accepted until Nov. 30. Five recipes rose to the top including the winner and finalists:

In February, judges from the Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s Bronson Healthy Living Campus in Michigan put the top five recipes to the test. The judging team included chefs and students, along with Bronson Methodist Hospital’s executive chef. The college president even stopped by for a taste.

The recipes were judged for flavor (compilation and balance of ingredients) and how the recipe appealed to the senses. The judges also considered aspects important to health care food service, such as ease of execution, availability of ingredients, and nutritional and taste appropriateness for patients and patrons.

Read profiles of the four finalists and download their recipes on Health Care Without Harm’s website.

Meet Chef Nina Curtis

“Food is meant to fuel us but I believe that it must also offer good memories and delight the soul.”

Nina Curtis is Adventist Health, Roseville Campus Vitaliz Café and Culinary Arts department director and executive chef. At the helm of this dynamic culinary division, Curtis continues to be recognized as a leader and trailblazer in the plant-based culinary movement. Her food and beverage background over the last 20 years includes working with The Ranch at Live Oak, Malibu, the Marriott Group, Hilton Hotels, Baxters, Manhattan Beach, the El Caballo, Oakland, Pure Food and Wine in New York, and the Springs Restaurant and Wine Bar in Los Angeles. Curtis presents lectures and demonstrations on health, nutrition, and whole foods around the world. She has developed wellness training programs, set up kitchen operations, and has worked closely in conjunction with culinary master gardeners to develop seasonal garden-to-table recipes that are essential to having a delicious plant-strong culinary experience.

Why did you choose to become a chef?

I became a chef because I really love to eat good food. Growing up, I would cook with my mom, and my dad was a chef in catering, and there was always a need for another pair of hands.

I realized during my nutritional studies that I needed to get in the kitchen and serve people food to live for rather than to die for. I have vast experience in and exposure to working with food — I’ve worked in fast food (during my youth), hotel hospitality, and spas.

Being a chef comes with great responsibility. The food system that is currently broken can shift, and now is the time to do it. Those of us in the culinary world can rise up and take action.

Why a hospital chef?

There is a stigma about hospital food that comes with other implications about how hospital food has developed. You don’t think, “I am going to the hospital to have a five-star meal.” I am wearing the hat of a hospital chef, and for me, the role also comes with the challenge of bringing innovation. I work every day to challenge what I think is “my good enough” and push myself to consider how we can level up? How can we change the thought of what hospital food is like? What plant-based food is like? We are serving food, and it needs to be delicious. When people say their food seems healthy, I think, “why would you not want your food to be the healthiest, most nutritious thing for your body?”

What is your approach to hospital food?

I don’t say this is a hospital and this is how it should be. I aim to meet people where they are. There is such a connection people have with their food, from their history — like something a grandmother or aunt made — and such a disconnect, with people not realizing what it took to get the food to their plate. My approach is to educate gently. When people say, “is that fake cheese?” I say cheese is just a process. You start with ingredients and process ingredients to get cheese. And “processed” is not all bad. We eat something processed every day. We just don’t want refined sugars or flours that are heavily processed. I love to educate people in a compassionate way to help them understand the connection someone has with food, as well as the disconnect. I whisper the message to people and aim to get their senses involved.

How has your work changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Before COVID-19, I had a very attentive audience while serving associates (people who work for Adventist Health) at campus. At the start of COVID-19, routines were shattered. With my colleagues, I talked about what we could send home to associates. First, we reached out to our organic tea and coffee company and arranged to drop ship to employees. Then, I started Chef Nina’s health tip for the week to support associates at home. We talked about stress, anxiety, and healthy eating giving ideas for snacks and preparing things ahead of time. While working remotely, we did research to get on top of guidance and determine what would need to change. The Veg Out Box idea came up. The box is filled with local, seasonal, and sustainable food and supports farmers and associates. The associates can order each week to meet their needs. When we launched the Veg Out boxes, other hospitals reached out to see if they could participate, so we shared the model so they could replicate it at their facilities.

Why did you participate in the contest?

The contest is right up my alley. There are not a lot of contests focused on plant-based cuisine. No matter how I would argue it in other contests, legumes, nuts, and quinoa are not considered a protein. Submitting a recipe for the health care culinary contest was exciting. Chefs are creatives who are always looking for the next new thing.

Why do you choose to create and serve plant-forward menu items?

There are so many options for plant-based foods. I try to always be inclusive and emphasize that there are so many options here. I am offering something that you might not normally reach for. People say they just didn’t know how good this could be. If you don’t know something, how can someone expect you to make a different choice? I try to surprise and delight people.

Where do you find inspiration?

I find inspiration from deconstructing. I ask people what their favorite dish is and create a plant-based version. It inspires me to give people an option they didn’t know existed. I also love getting new vegetables and other ingredients that I haven’t worked with before. It allows me to introduce people to things they would walk by in the store or skip on a menu because they didn’t know what it was.

Why did you choose this recipe?

I chose our Vitaliz haystack as a homage to the heritage of Adventist Health because the Adventists have been promoting health, well-being, and hope since 1836.

Adventists have a long history as vegetarians, they were the only group in the United States that was included in the book, the Blue Zone. I did a lot of research and conducted surveys to learn more about traditional dishes that our associates enjoyed in their families. Vitaliz haystacks are an elevated offering of the traditional Adventist haystacks, known and loved by a global community and eaten and shared with family and friends alike. This mouth-watering and flavorful dish is often eaten at celebratory gatherings, after church services, and at potluck dinners.

Traditionally, this meal is stacked with corn chips, black beans, cheese, lettuce, diced tomatoes or pico de gallo, olives, sour cream, scallions, and pickled jalapenos. There’s no limit to the number of plant-based ingredients that can be used.

The Vitaliz Café launched the haystacks as a homage to this traditional Adventist dish with a healthier option to the delight of our associates, and it’s been a success ever since! There are still those who prefer the corn chips or tortilla chips as the base, but many of our associates like the option of the black rice as a healthier choice. Food is meant to fuel us, but I believe that it must also offer good memories and delight the soul!

How is your recipe good for people and the planet?

Nearly all of our ingredients were local, organic, or both. The black rice, black beans, olives, and spices were organic. The lentils were local. With the exception of the vegan mayonnaise and sour-cream, and plant-based “cheese,” which are non-GMO, the rest of the ingredients were organic and sourced locally.

How did you feature the recipe?

When we originally launched the Vitaliz haystack, we sold 109 meals in an hour. The Vitaliz haystack is a spin-off of a traditional Adventist dish. Our associates were familiar with the dish and supported us in numbers. Others that weren’t as familiar wanted to know what all the fuss was about and came in to try the dish; we did not really have to sample. When we further introduced the dish with black rice as a healthier option, other associates were impressed and interested. We placed the dish we styled for the pictures submitted on the counter for all to see, and that garnered a lot of interest and support in us entering the contest. Since then, we average 88 dishes sold every time we serve, which is on Fiesta Tuesday.

How did the recipe go over? Did you reach people who had not heard of it?

Buzz traveled through the organization when associates heard about the plans to serve the haystack and there was a line out of the café door for it on the first day. People related to it because they know about it and it is delicious, it was a win-win. For those unfamiliar, I explained it. The dish engaged people because they have a choice of what they want on their plate. With the black rice, it was an option for people who don’t want chips and created a new option for those who normally get the chips.

Now we are re-envisioning how we will do it in the new norm. I think the recipe will get picked up by other sites. I think it will have the same reaction across the system. There could be a whole contest on haystacks to see which hospital could make the best haystack.

What was your reaction to winning?

I had been in a two-hour meeting. I looked at my email, I read it, then read again, then a third time, then let out a scream “we won.” It was a team effort and we had that moment. I was very pleased, especially this year, and very proud of the work that my time and I do and to be associated with this organization. You can’t do it alone. My team is very excited. It was a really fun experience.

Would you recommend the contest to others?

Hands down, it was one of the highlights of the year. It has been an honor. Any and all hospital chefs should use the contest as an opportunity to challenge themselves and their team to put more vegetables on the plate with intent. We have to change the mindset. A lot of people think, “I can cook vegetables, it’s easy.” You can also overcook and ruin vegetables. Vegetables have always been the side trick. Vegetables should be the first thought. I am always interested in why there is not more of an emphasis on presenting the ingredient you are working on in all its glory. That is what I feel like I get to do. There are a lot more options in the plant-based world. You can’t get bored with them.

Closing thoughts?

I was inspired to participate in the Health Care Culinary Contest because I practice a “no harm” philosophy in my kitchen. I serve plant-forward food to live for. I am concerned about our associates’ health, our environment, and other sentient beings. I love the opportunity you are providing chefs to up our game and recognize the blessing, responsibility, and opportunity to turn people’s lives positively around with food. I love being a trailblazer and stepping out, even if it’s not comfortable all the time, to bring attention to the way we need to change our industry from health care to well-being.

Every day I get to live our mission at Adventist Health, “Living God’s love by inspiring health, wholeness and hope,” through the food my team and I are able to prepare for our associates. When someone trusts me to cook for them, I take it very seriously.

Ready, set, cook! The next Health Care Culinary Contest is coming soon

Health care culinary professionals across the country are taking their menus to new levels in creativity and flavor, all powered by plants. It’s time to hit the (cook)books for inspiration — the next Health Care Culinary Contest opens in October. Make sure you’re subscribed to Health Care Without Harm’s healthy food in health care newsletter to be the first to know when the contest opens.