“Farm to Bed” Northwell Health has transformed its food services program over the last seven years By Alexandra Zendrian accolades and accomplishments – to be its N Assistant Vice President of Food Services and Corporate Executive Chef at the end of 2017. The health system was the first in the country to hire a Michelin Star chef. In the seven years since he began reinvigorating hospital food, lots of changes have occurred. orthwell Health hired Michelin Star Chef Bruno Tison -- the legendary Executive Chef of the Plaza Hotel when he was 30, among other
For one, Chef Tison is far from the only Michelin Star chef at Northwell now. “Most of our chefs, now all our chefs, come from the hotel restaurant background,” Chef Tison said. “We have five chefs that I’ve worked in Michelin star restaurants [with].” Among the reasons Northwell can attract such talent, apart from Chef Tison’s reputation, is that it raised the wages of its chefs to reach what Chef Tison considers “a proper salary.” Additionally, Northwell has vastly increased its usage of fresh produce and high-quality ingredients. It brings in fresh, artisanal bread from two of the best locations in New York State. Before Chef Tison signed on, Northwell used about 90 percent of its refrigerated space for frozen food. Today, that percentage has been flipped to 10 percent and the little that is frozen are stocks and sauces that are made at each facility. Chef Tison considers Northwell’s cuisine now “farm to bed” based on its fresh, high-quality ingredients.
Photo Credit: Northwell Health
Hospital menus have also been redesigned. Gone are the Northwell logos and photos of the front of the hospital. “Quite honestly, the last thing I need to remind you when you’re in bed suffering is that you’re in a hospital; you know you’re in a hospital,” Chef Tison said. “For 10 minutes, when the patients are reading the menu, you transport them to another world, to the world of food… and they start salivating and they start thinking about what they’re going to get. [When patients are eating, it] gives them a small moment of pleasure and the time to forget about why they are in the hospital.” Northwell is investing in its food quality for several reasons, including strategic business ones. Given that Northwell is situated among several of the top hospitals and health systems in the country, it’s in a competitive market.
Photo Credit: Northwell Health
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