Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center New York - Main Hospital

The Chef Who Ditched Fine Dining to Cook for Cancer Patients

"A large hospital kitchen operation on York Avenue that prepares room service three times daily for nearly 500 inpatients, offering a menu of about 60 dishes plus daily specials. The kitchen staffs about 50 people (roughly 30 involved in food prep) with dedicated tray-line workers and station cooks handling eggs, grilling, saucing, etc. Work is organized with set shifts, paid overtime, health insurance and paid time off, and wages around $25 an hour; staff longevity is common. Culinary priorities extend beyond finesse to clinical nutrition — assembling low-microbial diets, pureed meals with added fat for post-transplant or esophageal-cancer patients, and small plating flourishes (e.g., strawberry shingling on cottage cheese) to add comfort. The institution also runs a food-access program that has distributed hundreds of thousands of meals to patients and families since 2011." - Chris Crowley