Northwell’s top chef is a real star—Michelin that is
It’s not news that hospitals have been working for a while to improve their culinary game. But Northwell Health has kicked things up a notch.
In his former life in the world of fine dining, Bruno Tison earned a coveted Michelin star as executive chef of the Fairmont Sonoma (Calif.) Mission Inn & Spa. Since October, the native of France has been working at Northwell Health with a mighty mission: to transform lackluster hospital food into healthy, restaurant-quality fare for patients and employees alike. (Hospital nutritionists still weigh in on menu changes to meet patients’ dietary needs, and luxury entrées like filet mignon cost extra.)
As corporate chef and assistant vice president of system food services at the New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based system, Tison oversees all food preparation at Northwell’s 23 hospitals. “I always think of cooking for someone as the greatest act of care and love,” he told Crain’s New York Business. “I decided at this point in my career that I wanted to cook for people who are sick.”
Once food wasn’t exactly Northwell’s strong suit. Many past patients rated its meals as “not good, or awful,” said Sven Gierlinger, Northwell’s chief experience officer. Gierlinger, himself a trained chef, hired Tison to turn things around. “Food has been treated as a liability … but we’re changing it into an asset,” he said.
Tison said his new job is satisfying. “I think of all the celebrities I cooked for; I never got a thank you. Now when I walk through a hospital room, I see a patient with joy on their face, and they want to thank you for passing by. It’s very, very rewarding.”