TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — When Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian moved to Tampa a few years ago, he didn’t expect a conversation about chicken noodle soup to spark a full-scale overhaul of hospital food.
“I had a situation at a meeting with John Couris, Tampa General’s CEO,” Zakarian said. “Someone said you should get to know him. He’s a great guy, loves food. We were chatting in his office. It’s a true story. And he said, ‘I hope you can help me with the chicken noodle soup here. They put the noodles in so early, and it’s all mushy.’”
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Zakarian, a longtime Food Network personality and full-time Tampa resident, said he could fix it. Couris encouraged him to submit a proposal.
“I told him I want to do a menu of real food. All the stuff that you’re serving now is gonna go in the garbage,” Zakarian said. “He goes, ‘Fine with me.’”
That was nearly three years ago. The result is what Zakarian calls “Farm to Gurney,” a complete renovation of Tampa General’s patient menu and food service model, rolling out hospital-wide in October.
The 1,500-bed facility will shift to a room-service style system, with patients ordering from iPads and receiving freshly prepared meals in about 45 minutes. Zakarian’s recipes, drawn from his restaurants, eliminate seed oils, phosphates, glyphosates and high fructose corn syrup, favoring a Mediterranean-style diet with organic, pasture-raised and regenerative ingredients where possible.
“It’s going to be yummy, delicious food,” he said. “We’re making our own protein shakes, our own ice cream, our own lemonade. Everything’s fresh.”
Couris said the project reflects the hospital’s belief that food is an important part of healing.
“Through our partnership with Chef Zakarian, we are demonstrating the role that nutrition plays in the healing process and transforming our menu and delivery model to better meet the needs of our patients,” Couris said in a statement. “Nutrients from high-quality, wholesome food can support and expedite recovery. By treating food as medicine, we’re setting our patients up for the best possible outcomes and long-term success after they leave the hospital.”
Zakarian said the approach isn’t complicated, it’s about choosing better ingredients.
“They had everything: chicken, garlic, apricots, parsley, but it was all garbage. It was hormone-fed chicken, seed oils, high fructose sugar,” he said. “We just threw all that away and brought everything in that’s original. So I’m making yummy food, mac and cheese, a cheeseburger, steak frites, but it doesn’t have to be junk.”
Dr. Tanuja Sharma, a family medicine physician at Tampa General, said the changes go beyond taste.
“Fresh and healthy foods are an important component of a patient’s healing process,” Sharma said. “Good nutrition can also address chronic conditions, prevent illness and contribute to a better quality of life.”
Zakarian acknowledged the higher costs of quality ingredients but said cutting the menu from about 80 items to a curated selection offsets much of the expense.
“You’re there for three days; you don’t need a restaurant’s worth of choices,” he said. “If you want a side of fries and a side of green beans and a chocolate milkshake, you can have it.”
Hospital visitors and community members say they welcome the change.
“As a vegan, I’d totally be like, ‘Where is the plant-based? Where is the no dairy?’” said Tampa resident Felicia Kelly. “You’re helping us stay sick if you’re not serving healthy food. I think it’s amazing someone took the initiative.”
Another visitor, Louis Ocasio, said he hadn’t thought much about hospital food until hearing about the project.
“I feel like that’s a good thing, to have a five-star chef at a hospital,” Ocasio said. “They’re getting a good meal for what they’re spending their insurance for.”
The transformation at Tampa General Hospital goes beyond what’s on the plate. It’s changing how meals reach patients. Traditionally, hospitals deliver set menus at fixed times each day, but Tampa General is replacing that model with a room-service style system. The new Patient Room Service program, set to be available hospital-wide by the end of the summer, allows patients to order what they want, when they want it. Using their in-room TV or a phone call to the diet team, patients can select from a rotating menu, and meals are made to order and delivered within 45 minutes.
Hospital officials say the shift gives patients greater flexibility, particularly those undergoing tests or procedures who might otherwise miss a scheduled meal. By ordering on their own schedule, patients can eat when the timing is right or hunger strikes. Combined with the revamped menu, the new delivery model is designed to improve the patient experience, boost efficiency and maintain cost control, all while offering fresh, nutrient-rich meals.
Zakarian said patients will also leave with recipes and videos explaining where ingredients came from and why they’re healthy.
“No one’s going to go to Tampa General and try to get sick to have my food,” he joked. “However, what a nice thing to do, to educate them on the way out.”
He hopes Tampa General can be a model for hospitals nationwide.
“We’re trying to do the right thing for the clients in the hospitals,” Zakarian said. “If we’re going to pay all this money to help them get well, we should at least give them food that will keep them in an accelerated pace, more vital. One day after another.”
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