How to participate in the Health Care Culinary Contest


Meet the 2019 and 2020 winners of the Health Care Culinary Contest: Chef Noriel San Pedro from Stanford Health Care & Chef Nina Curtis from Adventist Health. Check out their winning recipes and hear why they think chefs should compete.   

Entering the contest is easy! Submit a recipe anytime between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30, 2023. Please refer to the official rules and resources for participants for more details. 

Rules:

  1. The entry must be plant-forward, a style of cooking and eating that emphasizes and celebrates, but is not limited to, foods from plant sources – fruits and vegetables (produce), whole grains, legumes (pulses), nuts and seeds, plant oils, and herbs and spices – and reflects evidence-based principles of health and sustainability. For this contest, animal proteins make up no more than 1.5 ounces per serving.
  2. The entry must be replicable for other hospitals. 
  3. The entry must contain at least one whole food plant protein (e.g., grains, legumes, seeds, or tree nuts). Traditional foods such as tofu, seitan, and tempeh qualify but meat/dairy analogs do not. 
  4. The entry must be served in your facility at least once in the contest period.
  5. The entry must be submitted between Oct.1 and Nov. 30. 

How to play:

The recipe can be for an entree, snack, grab-n-go, baked good, or any common food item sold in your cafés and cafeterias including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. For example, a black bean brownie or a chickpea muffin would qualify as a plant-forward baked good. Your dish might be a new take on a traditional dish. Perhaps a classic meatloaf is transformed into a savory, plant-forward loaf. A beefy bolognese could become a rich, plant-forward sauce. One might also look to classic comfort foods from other cultures like China’s congee or shakshuka from the Middle East, or get inspired by what’s in season in your region.

Step #1 Submit the recipe

  1. The recipe can be for an entree, snack, grab-n-go, baked good, or any common food item sold in your cafés and cafeterias including breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  2. Recipe narrative. Tell us about the recipe. Use these questions for narrative ideas.
  3. What is the cost per serving?
  4. Recipe ingredients and procedure in institutional proportions (20-50 servings) and home proportions (6 servings).
  5. Submit at least two photos, one of the dish/item and one with the chef or culinary team with the dish/item. (High-quality photos with landscape orientation preferred.)

Step #2 Promote the dish

Promote your dish by holding an event, tasting, demonstration, or other promotion during the contest period. (The week of World Food Day, Oct. 16, would be a great time for this.) Document the promotion with 2-3 images (such as screenshots of social media posts, photos, or marketing materials) and a description of the promotion in the contest entry form. Our participant social media guide includes sample posts and images you may use.

Prizes

One (1) grand prize winner will receive:

  • One complimentary registration and acknowledgment at the 2024 Menus of Change Summit hosted by the Culinary Institute of America.
  • One complimentary registration and acknowledgment at the 2024 CleanMed conference hosted by Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth.
  • One travel stipend of $1,400 to be used for costs associated with attending either of the conferences.
  • $100 gift certificate to a local farm-to-table restaurant.
  • Promotion by the Culinary Institute of America, Health Care Without Harm, and Practice Greenhealth.

Four (4) finalists will receive a $100 gift certificate to a local farm-to-table restaurant.

Scoring and selection process

Entries are scored by Health Care Without Harm staff to determine a top 7. Menus of Change staff score the top 7 entries to establish a top 5. The top 5 recipes will be tested by the Johnson and Wales University Culinary School instructors and students. The top 5 finalists will be notified by email by March 2024. The winner will be notified by April 2024 and will be publicly announced at CleanMed in May 2024. Entries will be scored, and points will be awarded in the following categories:

  1. Narrative (10 points)
  2. Recipe submission (5 points)
  3. Recipe novelty, creativity, taste, suitability for health care (10 points)
  4. Promotion (10 points)

Resources for participants

No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. U.S. residents only. Ends 11/30/23. This is not a game of chance; winners selected based on stated criteria. Official rules and judging criteria. Sponsored by Health Care Without Harm U.S., 12355 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 680, Reston, VA 20191.