The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, N.J., came out on top at the recent national 2016 Association for Healthcare Foodservice (AHF) Culinary Competition in Dallas, according to an article on the Bergenfield Daily Voice website.
John Graziano, manager, executive chef, and Jason Nyman, manager of food & nutrition of patient services, were presented with gold medals and the top award (the Silver Plate) for their winning dish entry, Tex-Mex Chicken & Waffles.
The annual competition has a format similar to Food Network challenges. There is a time limit of 75 minutes to prepare, cook and present the entrée and sides.
Additionally, the winning dish had to use certain mandatory ingredients and had to fit within the stated guidelines: cost under $8 to produce and be appropriate to serve in a facility on a regular menu rotation, whether retail, catering or patient feeding.