Chef David Burked judges Northwell’s cooking challenge

This year’s Northwell Health annual cooking challenge featured Chef David Burke as a special guest judge.

The competition comprised finalist teams from Huntington Hospital, South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore and Staten Island University Hospital, Prince’s Bay and Northern Westchester Hospital in Mt. Kisco.

The celebrity chef behind Garden City Hotel’s Red Salt Room, Burke has also been featured on Food Network and Bravo TV.

Judging alongside Burke were Northwell leaders Chef Bruno Tison, vice president systems food services and corporate executive chef; Dr. Jaqueline Moline, senior vice president and chair of occupational medicine, epidemiology and prevention; and Francine Kelly, DNP, associate executive director, Glen Cove Hospital.

“I’m blown away by this event, because I think it’s very smart to have a competition like this where food is taken so seriously in healthcare and hospitals,” Burke said in a statement. “Food is so important because it brings joy to people who may be in fear when they’re in the hospital. The word hospitality and hospital are one in the same so if we can up the experience of being in the hospital through food and nutrition, it really makes a whole lot of sense.”

The competition have the health system opportunity to showcase its focus on food as it relates to health.

“It’s important to realize that food is health so we’ve made a concerted effort and successfully enhanced the food quality for all patients who come into our facilities,” Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, said in a statement.

“What you have today is a competition that demonstrates the extraordinary talent that our chefs have and the level of food that is delivered to our patients every day,” Dowling added. “This competition elevates everybody’s competence and desire and it also inspires everyone.”

Each hospital team created food that that was designed to not only please the palate but also meet dietary and nutrition guidelines. With 90 minutes on the clock, the teams were tasked with preparing three courses each and present them to the judges.

This year the winning team was awarded an all-expenses paid trip to Napa Valley including a visit to the Culinary Institute of America while there.

Northern Westchester Hospital took home first place. Their winning dishes were mushroom and farro risotto for appetizer, main entrée was filet of wild black cod and for dessert Bing cherry and almond clafouti, matcha and yogurt crème anglaise.

Huntington Hospital placed second while Staten Island University Hospital, Prince’s Bay came in third.

“This annual event represents the culinary excellence our patients are experiencing across all our 21 hospitals,” Sven Gierlinger, senior vice president and chief experience officer at Northwell Health, said in a statement. “Our patient scores for the quality of food in our hospitals keep going up because of events like this. Food in a hospital is part of healing and when patients are served food it should be a bright spot in their day.”

Each year more than 10 million meals are prepared and served to patients and visitors throughout Northwell Health. All chefs have experience working in the hotel and hospitality industry, some even in Michelin starred restaurants, according to Northwell.

And according to the health system, eight of its hospitals have been ranked in the 90th percentile or above for food quality scores based on patient surveys. The system as a whole is in the 84th percentile compared to all other hospitals in the country.

“This annual event is a symbol of our commitment to redefining food and nutrition in health care,” Tison said in a statement. “It allows us to gather together and share new techniques and ideas, but most importantly this is where we showcase how we have transformed hospital food.”

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