“We’re kind of like mad scientists,” John Lindamood, a chef at Baton Rouge General’s Bluebonnet campus, tells 225 in a feature in the current issue. “We’re given healthy guidelines we must follow, and we make it work.”
The hospital launched the Baton Rouge General Fit program in 2012, hiring chefs with restaurant experience to revamp patient meals and transforming its Mid City and Bluebonnet hospital cafeterias into “bistros.”
The goal is to make better-tasting hospital food with better ingredients. Olive oil and real butter replaced pan sprays or margarine. They use almond flour and coconut flour instead of white flour. They banned sugars and artificial sweeteners, opting to add sweetness with cinnamon, cloves, local honey or fresh fruits.
And it’s made all the difference in the world for patients—especially when the only bright spot in their day might be a good meal.
“There are not too many happy moments in a hospital. But food to me has always been synonymous with a happy time,” says Joe Voiselle, director of nutritional car at the Bluebonnet campus. “When a person is having their birthday in the hospital, sometimes we’re the only ones coming into the room without a needle.”
It’s not just patients benefiting—anyone from the public can dine at the hospital bistros. Between its two locations, the hospital serves more than 1 million meals per year.
“We’re trying to help people make changes to their lifestyle,” Voiselle says. “You don’t have to give up pizza. You don’t have to give up pasta. We use great ingredients to make great food, and it just happens to be healthy.”
