Northwell Health’s annual Chefs Challenge takes food to the next level in healthcare culinary cuisine

At Northwell Health’s 13th annual Chefs Challenge, our talented culinary teams competed at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in New York City to make a nutritious and delicious meal that may be offered to Northwell patients in the future. Northwell is committed to raising the bar when it comes to creating healthy cuisine for our patients and team members while redefining food in healthcare.

During the 90-minute, Top Chef style competition, teams of chefs, cooks and registered dieticians used an assigned set of ingredients to prepare nutritious and enticing three-course meals for the judges. The celebrity guest judge this year was Marcus Samuelsson, owner of Harlem’s Red Rooster and Chelsea seafood restaurant, Hav & Mar.

Phelps Hospital was awarded first place in the competition. Kelly Walker, executive sous chef at Phelps Hospital, shared that participating in Northwell’s 13th annual Chef Challenge was amazing.  One of the things Kelly loves about being a chef at Northwell Health is the care behind the food. “Food is medicine and Northwell keeps breaking the mold on what hospital food can be. The quality in the food that we serve has jumped leaps and bounds from what one would expect from a hospital and I am honored to be a part of it,” said Kelly.

The winning dishes included an appetizer of beet-and-brussels sprouts potstickers served with raw beets, a beet coulis and a vegan horseradish mouse. The main entrée was black trumpet mushroom-crusted monkfish with spring onions, fava beans and garlic-potato puree and for dessert, a delectable Valrhona chocolate and prune Napolean cake with a dark chocolate ganache. Plainview and Syosset hospital’s team placed second, with Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City placing third.

Susan Juechter, senior registered dietitian at Phelps Hospital, shared how exciting it was to be at the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) for the Chefs Challenge this year. “The recipes submitted for the Chef’s Challenge not only demonstrate the skill and creativity of our Northwell Chefs, but also the nutritional understanding of building a balanced menu that meets the therapeutic needs of our patients.”

At Northwell, we believe that food is medicine and has the capability to heal our patients and the communities we serve. Looking to begin or advance your career in hospitality? There are a variety of positions available from chefs and cooks to food service and dining assistants. Be a part of an award-winning team with access to comprehensive benefits, career growth and development opportunities, wellness programs and more.

Join our talented and driven culinary team at Northwell Health.