Health Care Culinary Contest

The 2025 Health Care Culinary Contest will run from October 1-November 30, 2025.

7 years of winning Health Care Culinary Contest chefs

7 winning chefs, 100+ delicious recipes, & 1 remarkable contest

Every year, health care culinary professionals across the country take their menus to new levels in creativity and flavor, all powered by plants.

Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth team up with Menus of Change, an initiative of The Culinary Institute of America, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the College of Food Innovation & Technology at Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island to host our Health Care Culinary Contest.

Participate

Elevate your hard work and creativity while spotlighting your hospital’s plant-forward commitment to a national audience.

Learn how to play

Join the VIC list

The contest may be over but the fun has just begun. Want the latest contest tea, tips from former competitors, recipe ideas, and all the updates? Then sign up for our exclusive VIC list (Very Important Chefs) and we'll dish it up regularly throughout the contest and beyond.

Sign up

Why plant-forward?

Hear first-hand why your fellow chefs and food service pros are embracing the Plant-Forward Future.

Plant-Forward Future resources

Check out our Plant-Forward Future resources that help health care facilities set a plant-forward goal, menu and market plant-forward dishes, and track progress.

Learn more

Inspiration from 2024

"Food can foster a sense of connection and healing, and I hope this dish offers a taste of home, honoring our shared cultural heritage while promoting plant-based eating for better health.” – Chef Luis Santos

The grand prize winner of the 2024 Health Care Culinary Contest was
Keck Hospital of USC’s deconstructed Honduran tamale

Chef Luis Santos was celebrated at CleanMed 2024, where his winning meal was served to attendees. He will also be honored at the Culinary Institute of America’s Menus of Change Leadership Summit.

Get to know our winning chef and his recipe

A round of applause for our finalists:

Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center's pesto bulgur bliss bowl
Nebraska Medicine's vibrant veggie power bowl
UW Health's farm-to-fork stuffed peppers with roasted red pepper & zucchini enchilada sauce
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital's campanelli à la norma

Read about the chefs and their stories

Celebrating past winners

Chef Michael J. Millben united flavor and cultural influence when developing his innovative winning recipe, not only free of the big nine allergens, but also vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free. Additionally, Millben highlighted the Mayo Clinic Blue Zone Project, a national initiative to improve communities’ health and well-being by increasing accessibility to and affordability of healthier choices. Read our interview with Chef Millben on his win below, watch his video, and be sure to try his recipe.

Read the story behind the recipe and get to know our winning chef

And a round of applause for our finalists

Overlook Medical Center’s Sicilian butternut squash and sweet pea arancini
Parkview Regional Medical Center’s beet tataki
Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange’s pho-bowl-ous jackfruit
Scripps Health’s Asian tofu lettuce wraps

Read about the finalist chefs and their stories

The grand prize winner of the 2022 Health Care Culinary Contest was
Stanford Health Care's spicy lentils with honey walnut cauliflower.

Get to know our winning chef and his recipe

The winners’ accomplishment was celebrated at CleanMed 2023 in Pittsburgh, where the chef received a plaque and the winning meal was served to participants. They were also honored at the Culinary Institute of America’s Menus of Change Leadership Summit.

And a round of applause for our finalists

City of Hope Medical Center’s butternut squash burrito bowl
Mass General Brigham Salem Hospital’s lemon blueberry graham beet bar
NYC Health + Hospitals’ sancocho
Scripps Health’s curried vegetable and barley stuffed acorn squash

Read about the chefs and their stories

Shekeba Samadzada and Dan Hess brought comfort to refugees and impressed the judges with their winning recipe, Afghan-style vegetable korma. From selling out before the end of the day to strategies for serving plant-forward in the Midwest and how hospitals can be as ‘home-like’ as possible, hear how the winning chefs won our appetites and our hearts.

Read the story behind the recipe and get to know our winning chefs

And a round of applause for our finalists

NYU Langone Health’s butternut squash & green pea farrotto
Peace Health Saint Joseph’s Shoyu beet poke bowl
Stanford Hospital’s wild mushroom birria
Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System’s curry sweet potato power crunch bowl

Read about the finalist chefs and their stories

Hospital chefs from across the country persevered to cook and serve healthy food when our patients and communities needed it the most. Read an interview with Chef Noriel San Pedro on plant-forward menus, serving comfort in COVID-19 times, and new twists on traditional meals.

Get to know the winning chef

And a round of applause for our finalists

Davis Hospital and Medical Center’s sweet potato tempura and black bean tacos
MetroHealth System’s Spanish frijoles salad with plantain chips
NYU Langone Health’s autumn vegetable curry
Winchester Hospital’s pumpkin seed-encrusted eggplant rollatini

Read about the finalist chefs and their stories

Hear from winning chef, Nina Curtis, on plant-forward menus, COVID-19 in food service, the Health Care Culinary Contest, and giving back. Curtis later went on to serve plant-based eats at the White House.

Get to know Chef Curtis

And a round of applause for our finalists

Arkansas Children’s harissa roasted carrot bowl
Emory University Hospital’s walnut lentil tacos
Stanford Healthcare’s spaghetti with a twist
St. John’s local lamb and lentil Greek power bowl

Meet our finalists and get to know their recipes

Chef Norbert Bomm, our inaugural winner, showed culinary creativity and sustainable food sourcing, exemplifying how hospital food can be healthy for people and the planet with his recipe Red dahl

Get to know the winning chef and the story behind his recipe

And a round of applause for our finalists

Lehigh Valley Health Network’s turkey grain bowl
Norton Healthcare’s miso noodle and veggie bowl
University of Wisconsin Health’s jackfruit teriyaki
Virginia Mason Memorial Hospital’s butternut squash enchiladas

Read about the finalists and their recipes

Our recipes

Download, create, and enjoy recipes from past winners and finalists.

Get cooking

No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. U.S. residents only. Ends 11/30/25. This is not a game of chance; winners were selected based on stated criteria. Official rules and judging criteria. Sponsored by Health Care Without Harm U.S., 12355 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 680, Reston, VA 20191.

The 2025 Health Care Culinary Contest will run from October 1-November 30, 2025.

7 winning chefs, 100+ delicious recipes, & 1 remarkable contest

Participate

Join the VIC list

Why plant-forward?

Plant-Forward Future resources

Inspiration from 2024

A round of applause for our finalists:

Celebrating past winners

Mayo Clinic’s three sisters blue zone tacos (2023)

Stanford Health Care's spicy lentils with honey walnut cauliflower (2022)

UW Health’s Afghan-style vegetable korma (2021)

Stanford Health Care’s adobo de la tierra (2020)

Adventist Health’s Vitaliz haystack (2019)

Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Red dahl (2017)

Our recipes

No purchase necessary, void where prohibited. U.S. residents only. Ends 11/30/25. This is not a game of chance; winners were selected based on stated criteria. Official rules and judging criteria. Sponsored by Health Care Without Harm U.S., 12355 Sunrise Valley Drive, Suite 680, Reston, VA 20191.