Dan Henroid on President Obama, Breakfast and Slowing Down

Confessions of Dan Henroid

Dan Henroid lets loose about President Obama, his love of breakfast and need to slow down.

Dan Henroid, UCSF Medical Center

2012 Silver Plate winner Dan Henroid, director of nutrition and foodservice at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco, loves breakfast any time of the day, wishes he could slow down and wants to work up the nerve to go skydiving.

What is the best part about your job?

It’s really dynamic work. Every day is different. I love the service element to my job.

What is the worst part about your job?

There are a lot of human resource issues that tend to consume copious amounts of time for just a few people.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

I was in academia for six years prior to coming back into operations and to successfully make that transition and have the success that we’ve had is pretty cool.

What is the most unusual foodservice/catering request you have ever received?

Last year we were asked to do a prom in the hospital. We took the main café and cleared it out and put a dance floor in. We worked with the child life department to do this prom for current and former patients of the children’s hospital.

If you weren’t in foodservice what would you be doing?

Probably something with computers.

Which talent would you most like to have?

The ability to make people happy. If I could wave a wand and make people happy.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

To slow down a little. I tend to multitask a lot.

What is your greatest fear?

Not being successful.

Which living person do you most admire?

President Obama. Politics aside, he’s blazed a very significant trail. There were a lot of people who didn’t think they would see a person of color in the White House in their lifetime.

What is your favorite meal?

I’m a big breakfast person. I can eat breakfast any time of the day. I’m a big breakfast burrito person.

What is your “guilty pleasure?”

Chocolate and sugar-sweetened soda. I’m supposed to be a dietitian practicing what I preach, but…

What will people always find in your refrigerator?

Eggs. I love breakfast.

What do you consider to be the most overrated foodservice trend?

Home meal replacements.

What is the weirdest food you have ever eaten?

Balut.

Are you a morning or evening person?

Morning. I have time to myself.

What are your words to live by?

Live life to the fullest and do so with the fewest number of regrets.

If you had a time machine what historical event or era would you visit?

I’d like to go back to when the country started. To be a fly on the wall when the Declaration of Independence was written and other key moments that formed the basis for the country.

What do you value most in a friend?

Dependability.

What would be your dream vacation?

Somewhere with a white, sandy beach with my kids far away from work and the other stresses of the day.

If you could eat dinner with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

Dwight Eisenhower when he was the Allied commander.

What is your most treasured possession?

My memories.

What activity is at the top of your bucket list?

Skydiving. I want to get the nerve to do it.

Who is your favorite celebrity chef?

Gordon Ramsay.