True Foodie Sound Bites: Hospital Food for Lunch...What Pho?

Thursday, September 8, 2016

Hospital Food for Lunch...What Pho?

Yes, you're seeing this right, it's pho, made from a chef, in a hospital!

   So, I got a call the other day from a colleague. She said, "Do you think you can come to this hospital to do a review on the food?" Wait, what? I think my silence lead her to her next sentence which was "wait, you know that soup, it's Vietnamese...pho?" Okay, yes, but in a hospital?

   Yes she said, and I've heard people have been raving about it. Okay I said, this I have to try. And I was pleasantly surprised and happy I did because it restored my faith in the passion chefs have and the degree they're willing to go to to provide GOOD hospital food and what patients are being fed over all as well.

   Chef Bob works for Carson's Food Service Management, which is the company that provides the food service at Wagoner Hospital in Wagoner, Oklahoma. They offer catering outside of the health industry for company/private parties and events as well.

     What I love about what Chef Bob has done, is that he went outside the box with his passion for food and wanting to create something that people would actually want, in not only hospital food, but food in general.

   Let me be clear on Chef Bob's version of pho. He didn't use the classic recipe, mainly because the food has to be low sodium and he doesn't have the luxury of the time it takes to bring out the flavors...so he figured out how to bring out the flavors as close as possible to the real deal, while making it appealing to the folks in Wagoner County. Not to say Wagoner peeps don't have taste, but pho is an acquired taste and I haven't seen any Vietnamese restaurants in Wagoner as of late.

The pho fixin's

As you can see, the fixings for the pho aren't all traditional either, but there were jalapenos and cilantro, which I love. The noodles are also not the traditional rice noodles... Chef Bob used the wider pad Thai type of rice noodles and also offers a wider egg noodle, which is more of a Chinese influence. But he was smart to do so because it gives the people of Wagoner a more familiar way to try this delicious soup.

So, this was MY version. I used the rice noodles, mushrooms, tofu, pork, cilantro and yes, Sriracha!! I also used the combination of chicken and beef broth.

My colleague chose the chicken broth and the combination noodles, rice and egg. She loved her version too.

Wagoner Hospital has a cafeteria and it's open to the public. It's clean, the food is delicious, especially the pho and it's a great place to catch up with friends and business meetings.