Top ten list of easy and affordable ways to improve patient food.
#10 Remove all warmers or limit the amount of warmers that your cooks can hold food in. This forces them to cook in smaller batches. I removed 3 out of 4 one night when no one was looking. I told my cooks that someone must have stolen them. I even had hospital security in on it so it looked real. They were cooking fresher food the very next day. (True story)
#9 Make your cooks taste the food and then ask them what they think. Promote a culture of food speak!
#8 Replace all canned and most frozen vegetables with fresh vegetables, preferably locally grown.
#7 Random Test Trays. Test the tray up on the floors. Eat it as a patient would eat it. Food coming off the line is hot and fresh, what does it taste after 30-45 minutes under a dome. Develop an action plan and fix any deficiencies.
#6 Recipe Compliance. Unless you have Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Todd English and Mario Batali working as your patient services cooks, you had better make them follow recipes. This is the most important step to consistency and accountability both which are essential for properly prepared foods.
#5 Follow Proper Cooking Procedures. Sautéed vegetables cannot be made using a steamer. In fact, make a list of what they are cooking in the steamer -- I bet it is most of the menu. Many cooks use the steamer because they are lazy, they do not want to clean a grill or tilt skillet so they just chuck it in the steamer. I would have in-service training on what can go in a steamer and what cannot.
#4 Plant your own herb garden and learn how to incorporate the harvest into your menus. Get rid of dried parsley and dried rosemary. Replacing these two simple items with fresh harvest will make an instant difference.
#3 Roast your meats the day they are being served. Properly roasted meats should come out of the oven and then allowed to rest before slicing. Many hospitals cook their turkey and roasts two days before service. One day is to cook it, the next day they slice it and on day three, they reheat it in the steamer and serve it. These are the same people who wonder why their turkey is always so dry. Try cooking it and serving it. Oh, and by the way... yes it can be done. we do it everyday.
#2 Stop cooking burgers and chicken breast on the grill and then holding them in a pan of greasy water to keep warm. Probably everyone who is reading this has seen this horrible mess. Cook the burgers and chicken breast in small batches during your peak times. Have them thawed so you’re not cooking a frozen hockey puck. No good burger joint in the world cooks their burgers like this.. why do you? The first answer your cooks will tell you is the customers do not want to wait. This is nonsense because if you do it right, they will not have to wait long.
And the number one thing you can do to improve patient food........
#1 Go visit your patients! Everyday your entire management team should be visiting patients, ask them what they like, what they don’t like. This simple thing not only connects you with the people you are serving but it gives you a wealth of knowledge to help improve your program, Management teams that are not visiting their patients will never reach excellence.
#10 Remove all warmers or limit the amount of warmers that your cooks can hold food in. This forces them to cook in smaller batches. I removed 3 out of 4 one night when no one was looking. I told my cooks that someone must have stolen them. I even had hospital security in on it so it looked real. They were cooking fresher food the very next day. (True story)
#9 Make your cooks taste the food and then ask them what they think. Promote a culture of food speak!
#8 Replace all canned and most frozen vegetables with fresh vegetables, preferably locally grown.
#7 Random Test Trays. Test the tray up on the floors. Eat it as a patient would eat it. Food coming off the line is hot and fresh, what does it taste after 30-45 minutes under a dome. Develop an action plan and fix any deficiencies.
#6 Recipe Compliance. Unless you have Bobby Flay, Emeril Lagasse, Todd English and Mario Batali working as your patient services cooks, you had better make them follow recipes. This is the most important step to consistency and accountability both which are essential for properly prepared foods.
#5 Follow Proper Cooking Procedures. Sautéed vegetables cannot be made using a steamer. In fact, make a list of what they are cooking in the steamer -- I bet it is most of the menu. Many cooks use the steamer because they are lazy, they do not want to clean a grill or tilt skillet so they just chuck it in the steamer. I would have in-service training on what can go in a steamer and what cannot.
#4 Plant your own herb garden and learn how to incorporate the harvest into your menus. Get rid of dried parsley and dried rosemary. Replacing these two simple items with fresh harvest will make an instant difference.
#3 Roast your meats the day they are being served. Properly roasted meats should come out of the oven and then allowed to rest before slicing. Many hospitals cook their turkey and roasts two days before service. One day is to cook it, the next day they slice it and on day three, they reheat it in the steamer and serve it. These are the same people who wonder why their turkey is always so dry. Try cooking it and serving it. Oh, and by the way... yes it can be done. we do it everyday.
#2 Stop cooking burgers and chicken breast on the grill and then holding them in a pan of greasy water to keep warm. Probably everyone who is reading this has seen this horrible mess. Cook the burgers and chicken breast in small batches during your peak times. Have them thawed so you’re not cooking a frozen hockey puck. No good burger joint in the world cooks their burgers like this.. why do you? The first answer your cooks will tell you is the customers do not want to wait. This is nonsense because if you do it right, they will not have to wait long.
And the number one thing you can do to improve patient food........
#1 Go visit your patients! Everyday your entire management team should be visiting patients, ask them what they like, what they don’t like. This simple thing not only connects you with the people you are serving but it gives you a wealth of knowledge to help improve your program, Management teams that are not visiting their patients will never reach excellence.
