FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick

This special Halloween episode of FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick features OU Culinary Services Executive Pastry Chef Vicki Van Pelt and Southeast Ohio History Center Tour Guide George Eberts. In a “trick, then treat” style interview, we weave together local ghost stories with tempting treats from the bake shop. Athens, Ohio, has been acknowledged by ghost hunters as one of the most haunted places in the world. The folklore leads down some very spooky paths. Eberts is a skeptic, but he manages to still give us chills! And Van Pelt, a native of West Virginia, is sharing not only the sweet and savory treats from the dining team, but also her knowledge of a West Virginia legend, the Mothman! We also get into why and how local lore gets started and sticks, the way mental health and the fear of the unknown plays into it all as well. So get cozy with some hot cider and a donut and let’s tell some spooky stories!

On this episode of FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick, the guest, Chef Maira Nogueira shares with us her unique journey to the kitchen and what she’s most excited about on campus this year. She has a few goals she’s working toward, including a more humanized kitchen from a psychological standpoint to doing more with sustainability and community. We also get into ayurvedic eating, an interesting way of life with seemingly lots of culinary secrets to unlock for increasing our wellness and wellbeing.

On this episode of FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick, we take a deep dive into the University of Nevada, Reno’s fresh new updates to the Chartwells dining program, including later night hours, grab-and-go trends and concept makeovers. Executive Chef Jon Buchholtz takes us behind the scenes into how the planning process went for all the changes and how it’s been going so far. With labor concerns ever-present, the dining team has found ways to offer more while working with less, essentially. We also get into the growing catering program and find out a little more about Buchholtz’s culinary viewpoint.

On this episode of FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick, we sit down with the man behind some of Cleveland’s absolute best restaurants, Chef Douglas Katz. Way back in 2014, we featured Katz in FM; at that time, at the art museum, where he showed us some ceviche secrets. Later, we ran into him all the way in California at a sustainable foods institute at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and now our paths cross again in the onsite foodservice world, as Katz has signed on with the Cleveland Clinic and Morrison Healthcare for a partnership that’s sure to be all about great food, great health and the hands-on spirit that has made Katz last so long as a hyper-competent, yet super humble Cleveland chef to be reckoned with.

On this episode of FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick, we are zooming in on the Cura Comfort Cart at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Comfort Cart is proving to be a great way for the dining crew to help the nursing staff provide comfort to hospital visitors who have just received bad news. The reality of a hospital setting is: Death is part of life. And bad news can also come in the form of a move to hospice, a diagnosis or any jarring medical event, really. The professional caregivers have to walk a fine line between compassion and professionalism. Staying sane and filling their own cups means they can care for others more effectively. We talk with creator of the cart, Cura Hospitality’s Jessica Kotuba, patient services manager, and Windy Flynn, dining services director. The two are experienced in the healthcare space, and have some interesting info to share about the carts and also how their skill sets help them practice compassion.

Morrison Healthcare’s Senior Director of Culinary Innovation gives us a behind-the-scenes look into the way healthcare dining evolves, ultimately achieving the very real power to heal patients, staff, community.

Chef Abbie Gellman, MS, RD, CDN, is looking to bridge the gap between healthy food and delicious food. As a dietitian, she’s got the knowledge about nutrients and plant-based foods, but since she was first a chef, she sees through a lens of flavor. Earlier this year at the UMass Chef’s Conference, an annual learning mecca for college chefs, Gellman developed a workshop, sponsored by Kellogg’s, called Kitchen & Culinary Nutrition Essentials for C&U Registered Dietitians.

During the hands-on workshop, Gellman showed participants new ideas in plant-based and plant-forward meals, allergen-friendly meals and late-night ideas, always a hot topic for those who serve college students. On this episode, we go in-depth with Gellman, finding out more about her life and mission, and also her role as a consultant, cookbook author and mom to a picky eater. She shares some plant-based perspective and talks about the many different roles today’s college dietitian can play.

As a former director at one of the nation’s largest school districts, Kern Halls remembers what it’s like to serve school lunch. As a former kid who grew up on school lunch, he also remembers what it’s like to eat it. When Kern and the Ingenious Culinary Concepts team arrives at a school district, the consulting includes observing, listening and then collaborating for cafeteria solutions that turn a blah cafeteria into the coolest hangout spot in the school. Fresh paint is huge, but even bigger is the infectious enthusiasm that Halls brings to each job. Over the years, FM has featured Halls’ work  and also his personal experiences in life  recently we caught up with him at the SNA show in Denver, and next thing you know he was recording a podcast, calling in from the airport on his way to a school in Idaho. He’s full of energy, and hopefully listening to this fresh new podcast will help energize you for back to school.

On this episode of On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick, we meet Executive Chef Jim Kellenberger, a recent winner of FM’s Healthcare Recipe Contest in the Best Sustainable category with a seasonal stunner of a salad: Romaine lettuce, green beans and cherry tomatoes are topped with a blood orange vinaigrette and candied pumpkin seeds from last year’s pumpkin carve. Kellenberger, a military veteran, has worked in many different settings, including New York/New Jersey fine dining, Vegas buffets and hot spots, and Knott’s Berry Farm in California (known for its creative berry-themed food items). When he came to healthcare dining, he didn’t realize what a positive impact it would have on his life or the fulfilling nature of the job. Lately, he's been working making sustainable meals that heal for thousands every day at the hospital. The education piece of healthcare dining is important to him too, and we get into that as well.

On this episode of FM On Demand with Tara Fitzpatrick, we are catching up with SDSU’s Executive Chef Tiago Battastini, a longtime friend of FM who we happily ran into at this year’s UMass Chefs Conference. This conversation features a recap of how the UMass Chefs’ Conference played out this year for Battastini and his team, and the full-circle moment of attending this conference in a leadership role. We find out what’s been going on with that dining team at SDSU, including hyper-local campus farming, world flavors, new projects and how Battastini gets inspired by his crew every day. Also, we talked off-air about a very cool new concept at SDSU that draws on some very fascinating historical cuisine that’s not often explored, but college foodservice is actually an ideal place to execute it. Intrigued? We are too! Stay tuned for FM’s next issue of our new digizine for more on that hint!