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Current Trends in Health Care Food Service By Chef R.D. Petersen

Foodservice in any industry is a trendy business. As customer tastes change, the emphasis on health conscious diets expand and the shrinking dollar available for foodservice disappears resulting in new trends developing and taking advantage of the changes. The health care industry is not an exception. The challenge to the foodservice operator is recognizing these developing trends and creating innovative methods to incorporate them into their program.

Perhaps the most challenging trend in health care foodservice is the move to bring higher quality, fresh foods into the system. In moving away from traditional institutional food preparation, operators must look for an upgrade in the culinary skills of their staff. The use of fresh ingredients instead of packaged or prepared food demands that the line cooking staff be well educated in the proper use and handling of fresh meat, seafood and produce. The quality food trend has many foodservice operators hiring chefs to run their operation and requiring a culinary certificate as a qualification for employment.

Secondly, fresh ingredients have an added nutritional feature, the control of fat and sodium. Herbs, lemon juice or vinegar are being used to enhance the flavor of food instead of sodium based products. Fresh herbs, flash frozen herbs and herb compounds are available in the market place. Fat content control occurs at preparation time instead of relying on manufacturers' specifications.

High quality convenience foods are gaining stature in the health care industry. The trend setter is sous vide. In the sous vide process, the manufacturer prepares an entree, packages it and then flash freezes it. At meal time, the package is opened, placed cold on a plate and re-heated for a specified amount of time. Hot, fresh vegetables or a cold pantry item may be added before the tray moves to the patient. Sous vide is also adaptable to a cafeteria line.

As the available dollars shrink in the health care industry, foodservice operators are searching for ways to expand their customer base. A trend toward the development of a food court atmosphere is being adopted. Today in many health care facilities, the foodservice area resembles a food court in a shopping mall or a major sports arena. Branding, the use of brand name vendors and products such as Godfathers Pizza, TCBY Yogurt, Starbucks Coffee and Subway Sandwiches, is frequently used in food courts. This creates attractive alternatives for the customer and generates more traffic in the foodservice area.

In-house catering, another trend in the industry, enables the operator to keep their customer base intact. An emerging trend to watch is the idea of five or six small patient meals a day instead of the traditional three square meals a day.

Foodservice in the future will develop new trends and operators will continue to adjust to satisfy customer tastes and remain fiscally responsible.

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