Food is health: How these two experts made hospital food delicious and nutritious

Hospital food has a reputation for being bland and inedible — something that's no longer true at Northwell's 21 hospitals. Over the last seven years, our guests — Sven Gierlinger and Chef Bruno Tison — have transformed hospital meals by ditching frozen food and sugary drinks for fresh meats, fruits and vegetables. They've ensured that hospital kitchens prioritize fresh ingredients and cater to the patient population, and now chefs are able to deliver meals that look, smell and taste better — and the food is much healthier, as well.

 

This is Part 1 of a three-part series all about Food as Health. Continue listening to this series:

• Part 2: Food insecurity: How Northwell is helping
• Part 3: Food as opportunity: Breaking the cycle of poverty through urban farming

On this episode, Gierlinger and Tison explain how:

• They transformed hospital food from "inedible" to gourmet
• A higher caliber of cuisine can help patients
• They are helping other hospitals and health systems adopt this model

Meet the experts

Bruno Tison is the vice president of food services and corporate executive chef. Previously he spent 14 years as executive chef for the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Tison earned Michelin star recognition for three consecutive years as the executive chef at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa in California.

Sven Gierlinger is Northwell's Chief Experience Officer. He started his career in the luxury hotel business, holding a series of leadership positions with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.