Recipe

Spaghetti squash with a sun-dried tomato sauce and super grain and lentil “meat” ball bites

Hospital

Stanford Health Care, Stanford, Calif.

Chef

Isaac Karachepone

Meet the chef

Isaac Karachepone has more than 25 years experience in the hospitality industry, leading teams in both back-of-house and front-of-house operations. His experiences range from fine dining to high-volume operations in India, Singapore, along with cities across the United States, including New York, Boston, Las Vegas, and Washington, D.C. Issac earned his degree in hotel management from The Institute of Hotel Management, Chennai, India, in addition to a degree in culinary arts from The Culinary Institute of America in New York.

Karachepone hails from the South Indian state of Kerala, known for its natural beauty, tourism, and hospitality as well as being the historical epicenter of the spice trade. These influences in his formative years led to his natural gravitation to an interest in cuisine and the restaurant industry. His interests include exploring cultures through cuisine, music, art, and relishing the journey as much as the destination. An avid tennis player, artist, and cook, Karachepone shares his love of travel and outdoor activities with his wife, Lizabeth.

Why did you choose this recipe?

Our chefs and staff wanted to present a comfort dish with a modern, plant-forward twist. We felt this dish represented our fresh, ingredient-driven menu and is representative of our mission.

How did you feature the recipe?

Stanford provided samples of their "spaghetti with a twist" dish to many guests of The Bing Dining Room during the week in which they launched this new entree. Patrons had plenty to say about it:

"Beautiful presentation with vibrant colors and flavors. Very tasty."

"Love the play on spaghetti and meatballs…wonderful use of end of season heirlooms…great consistency on the meatballs…delicious.”

"Perfect balance of flavors and colors, loved the tang from the sauce."

"A myriad of flavors and textures...wanted to take the fork back to the plate because I couldn't figure out what was what, very addictive!"

"Felt like comfort food that even a meat-eater could appreciate."

How is your recipe good for people and the planet?

Many of the ingredients in this recipe were organic such as the quinoa, wild rice, lentils, and oats. In addition, we sourced many ingredients locally. The button mushrooms, leaks, beets, eggs, parmesan cheese, spaghetti squash, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, and even the olive oil were produced in California.

Closing thoughts?

Participation in this contest has prompted us to take a new approach toward our offerings and how we market new plant-forward dishes.