Thomas Cuisine was highlighted by Health Care Without Harm for our efforts in outstanding plant-forward hospital food and environmental practices in foodservice. Health Care Without Harm is a global advocacy group that seeks to transform healthcare worldwide so that it reduces its environmental footprint and leads the global movement for environmental health and justice. We align with this mission for a healthy people and planet, through our REAL food initiative, including plant-forward meals.
Recently, Health Care Without Harm sponsored a healthcare culinary contest designed to reimagine hospital food. Our Executive Chef Neil Reese from Davis Hospital and Medical Center in Layton, UT, entered this contest with our plant-forward recipe, Tempura Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos.
What Plant-Forward Means to Chef Neil
Chef Neil embraces using plant-based recipes to encourage eating proper combinations of fats, proteins, and carbs while skipping meat as the center of the plate – providing both nutritional and environmental benefits. His submission has advanced to the Top 5 among hospital culinarians! We couldn’t be prouder, and we hope you enjoy the video from Chef Neil about his approach to plant-forward food and service.
Our REAL Food Approach to Plant-Forward
As a foodservice company, we don’t operate with pre-packaged or frozen meals. We start from scratch with a delicious recipe and wholesome ingredients. We promise to serve REAL food, and our recipes are the kickoff to deliver on that promise.
Our culinary teams use a Thomas Cuisine recipe database with offerings that have gone through a strict revision process to make sure we are using the cleanest ingredients possible. This helps us plan menus, manage waste, and stay up-to-date on costing so we can provide cuisine that is not only delicious, but relevant to food trends and modern environmental practices.
With our recipe database, we are also able to flex our offerings to incorporate modern food practices like “Plant Forward” eating. Plant Forward options typically trade a small portion of animal protein with grains or vegetables. For instance, Chef Neil’s new recipe Tempura Sweet Potato and Black Bean Tacos.
Because we focus on cooking from scratch, we can embrace healthier practices when it comes to serving food — one of which is getting more veggies in our diet. It also lets us meet the different, unique dietary needs of all we serve. Hats off to Chef Neil Reese and our other culinarians that go above and beyond in our REAL food mission!
