KCH welcomes Sam Choy as inaugural guest chef
The Kona Community Hospital (KCH) dietary department welcomed Chef Sam Choy to its inaugural guest chef event. The occasion, held on Wednesday, celebrated KCH’s healthy dietary initiative Ai Pono, Ho‘omaka ana – Eat Healthy, New Beginnings.
Choy’s award-winning cuisine represents the ideals of KCH’s dietary initiative: fresh, local dishes influenced by the land and people of Hawaii. Chef Sam Choy and the KCH cafeteria staff prepared loco moco Kona-style and plant-based vegetable adobo. Meals featured fresh, locally grown ingredients and were served to hospital staff and visitors through Ginger Café. Patients on standard diets were also offered their choice of the special entrees.
After six months of working with Beyond Green Sustainable Food Partners to improve the cafeteria program, the KCH cafeteria achieved several milestones. Twenty-five percent of the food served to hospital staff and patients was sourced from local farms through the addition of new local food vendors such as Adaptations, Fresh Island Fish, Hawaii Ulu Cooperative and long-time vendor, Cal-Kona.