Premier Honors Healthcare Chefs

The Premier healthcare alliance has announced the recipients of its 2013 Culinary Cup and Illuminating Excellence Awards. The following chefs were named the winners of Premier's Culinary Creations Contest and presented with the Culinary Cup for their delicious, healthy recipes...

• Raymond C. Cash, sous chef, White Memorial Medical Center of Adventist Health, Los Angeles (Recipe: Seared polenta cakes with caramelized onions, goat cheese and rose honey)

• Anthony Laub, executive chef, St. Anthony's Medical Center, St. Louis (Recipe: Marinated pork chop with ancient grain-roasted root vegetable medley)

• Cyril Ortigosa-Liaz, chef, Yale University (Recipe: Stuffed chicken breast with vegetable "farrosotto")

• Richard Plasencia, executive chef, West Kendall Baptist Hospital of Baptist Health South Florida, Miami (Recipe: White corn dusted scallops, SoBe grain salad, and toasted chive emulsion).

These chefs were selected by 425 of their peers at Premier's annual Foodservice Forum, held in conjunction with its Breakthroughs Conference & Exhibition, which drew more than 4,000 provider and supplier attendees to San Antonio June 11-14. They were among a "Top 10" list of finalists flown to San Antonio, where their award-nominated dishes were prepared by the Grand Hyatt and members attending the Culinary Dinner on June 12.

Premier also announced the winners of its Illuminating Excellence Award during the Foodservice Forum. The award honors accomplishments and improvements in foodservice operations including patient/resident/student satisfaction scores, documented cost savings, activities that support the values and mission of the organization, participation in the Premier alliance, professional and community activities and personal achievements in the last year.

The 2013 Illuminating Excellence Award Winners are...

• Tonya Burnett, category manager, Catholic Health Partners, Wapakoneta, OH
• Bill Furnas, regional director of dining services, Carillon Assisted Living, Innovatix, Raleigh, NC
• Rafi Taherian, executive director of dining at Yale University

"We are proud to honor these chefs and foodservice experts for providing patients with healthy, delicious, high-quality meals," said Debby Kasper, RD, LD, Premier's director of clinical nutrition and wellness program development. "The foodservice contests are an opportunity for members to recognize their peers by selecting who they consider to be top in the foodservice industry."

The Culinary Creation Contest finalists were as follows...

• Lyndon Espiritu, assistant director of nutrition & foodservice at North Shore/LIJ Health Systems Glen Cove (NY) Hospital
• Chris Crowley, executive chef at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, KY
• Chris Kriner, supervising chef at Nicholas Noyes Hospital in Dansville, NY
• Jacques Wilson, executive chef at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA
• Stephen Landers, executive chef at Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa, OK
• Veronica Rodriguez, executive chef at White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles

The Illuminating Excellence Award finalists were as follows...

• Liz Boone, director of nutrition services at Aultman Health Foundation in Canton, OH
• Melissa Devan, director of dining services at Forty-Niner Shops, Inc., of California State University-Long Beach
• Julie Diaz, director of food & nutrition at Memorial Hospital West of South Broward Hospital District in Pembroke Pines, FL
• Michael Fusco, head chef at Agape Kathwood and Agape Catering of Innovatix in Columbia, SC
• Ron Hall, executive chef at Mercy Hospital of Health Enterprises in Iowa City
• Randy Lait, senior director of hospitality services at North Carolina State University
• Karen Marble, food service director at Maine Veterans Home of Innovatix in Scarborough, ME
• Jacques Philippon, corporate director of nutrition services at Sholom Alliance of Fairview Health Services in St. Paul, MN
• Lisa Schairer, vice president of food & nutrition for Aurora Health Care in Grafton, WI
• Michael J. Scozzaro, food & nutrition services director for Mercy Gilbert (AZ) Medical Center of Dignity Health