Our guest heretic today is the hardest working woman in nutrition, Chef Alison Negrin a Consulting Chef, Culinary Instructor, Sustainable Food Consultant, and an advocate for Farm to Institution programs. In today’s show, Chef Alison talks about how she became involved in improving institutional food, the challenges involved, as well as the successes and future of nutritious and sustainable hospital menus.
Alison graduated from UC Berkeley with a BFA in fine arts, California Culinary Academy as a professional chef, and the Bauman Institute of Holistic Nutrition with a certificate in nutrition consulting. She is a lifelong learner and has finished various certificate programs to include Cornell University and the Culinary Institute to increase knowledge of nutritional healing. Alison has served on the board of directors for the non-profit organization, Wellness City Challenge for 5 years. The organization works to mobilize community resources to educate communities around health and nutrition.
You can connect with Chef Alison through her website, Chef Alison Negrin & Associates, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
Highlights from today’s episode on improving institutional food:
08:12 ~ Chef Alison’s aha moment when she knew that something needed to be done to bring real food to healthcare settings.
14:36 ~ Joining forces with Healthcare Without Harm.
19:09 ~ Leveraging cost with sustainable farming methods while working with large food vendors on contract.
23:24 ~ Challenges for finding and retaining hospital chefs, and an innovative solution.
43:16 ~ The changing roles of doctors and hospital leadership in improving hospital nutrition.
49:05 ~ Chef Alison’s consultancy services.
53:35 ~ The surprising reason many chefs leave restaurants for hospitals.
You may also enjoy RIP Funeral Food; The Connection between Spirituality and Food; Interview with Hilda Labrada Gore on Maintaining the Temple with Food and Movement.
