Press Releases: Northwest
January 20, 2012
Kaiser Permanente Teams with Local Chefs to Create New Latin-Inspired, Heart Healthy Entrée for Hospital
BEAVERTON, Ore. — Chefs from prominent Latin-themed restaurants will collaborate on new, healthy dishes for Kaiser Permanente’s new Westside Medical Center. Using bold flavors and fresh, local ingredients, chefs from Oba in Portland and Ochoa’s in Hillsboro will create a chicken dish, and Kaiser Permanente chef Greg Gates will prepare an original entrée from Pepper’s in Hillsboro.
Prominent local food judges, including Gale Castillo of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Wayne Hennerty of the Oregon Food Bank, and Victoria and Antonio Lara of Lara Media Services, will taste the new heart-healthy entrée and provide feedback.
“We want to honor the delicious, Latin-inspired cuisine of our area by featuring this dish on our hospital menu. The days of Salisbury steak and canned vegetables are long gone at Kaiser Permanente,” said Gates. “We also want to show people that these dishes can be healthy if we make them lighter, with fresh local ingredients.”
Gates has also invited the pastry chef from Portland Style Cheesecake to make a dessert. “There’s nothing wrong with eating sweets,” said Gates. “It’s all about portion control.”
The event will be held Tuesday, Jan. 24, at Oregon Food Bank West, 1870 N.W. 173rd Ave. in Beaverton. The chefs will be cooking from 10:45–11:45 a.m. in the teaching kitchen at the food bank, which was installed with the help of a Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit grant. The tasting panel will sample the dishes and have a chance to ask questions.
Healthy food options are just one part of the total health environment at the new Westside Medical Center, where the new menu will follow the Healthy Picks model of lower sodium, lower animal fat, more whole grains, and more fresh produce.
About Kaiser Permanente Northwest
Kaiser Permanente Northwest is part of America’s leading integrated health care organization. Founded in 1945, the organization serves the health needs of more than 8.9 million people in nine states and the District of Columbia. More than 480,000 people in Oregon and Southwest Washington receive their medical care from Kaiser Permanente, and 195,000 people receive dental care. A nonprofit health plan, Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. For more information, go to www.kp.org/newscenter. Follow us on Twitter at @kpnorthwest.
