Spotlight
Sue DeLosh began her 11 year tenure at Samaritan Regional Health System with a special, but subtle touch. As the new Executive Chef, she changed the style of cooking, adding more flavors to an otherwise bland presentation seasoned only by the old salt-and-pepper standby. "I wanted people to not know they were at a hospital, eating hospital food," DeLosh explained. "Since then, we've advanced even more by incorporating the trendy items in the food world to our own selection at Sam's Café."
Current trendy items include gourmet salads and flavorful soups. "People from the community are always telling us we have the best soup and salad bar around," DeLosh said. "It's hard to please everybody, but you try. It's nice to hear those compliments." DeLosh is obviously on the right path, receiving promotions along the way to prove it. She started with SpecialFest Catering, which used to be a service of Samaritan Regional Health System. While maintaining her responsibilities of executive chef, the title of assistant director was later added. Just recently, DeLosh was appointed to the director of Food and Nutrition Services at SRHS. As the director, DeLosh manages the daily operations at Samaritan Hospital's Sam's Café, which is open to the public for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She also works closely with SRHS's dietitian, Jamie Willmott, to fulfill the nutritional needs of inpatients.
All of these functions are performed with one common goal in mind: to incorporate new and exciting ways to entice everyone's taste palate. For example, come August, patient menus will feature two Chef Specials instead of one. New and flavorful selections were added for breakfast lunch and dinner, including Western skillets; ham and cheese croissants; pancakes with apple toppings; chicken Caesar salads; philli steak sandwiches; chicken marsala; beef stroganoff; chicken stir fry; and spaghetti with meatballs. When creating the new menu choices, DeLosh faced the challenge of presenting the same meal to all patients, whether they have dietary restrictions or not. Each selection had to meet DeLosh's strict criteria of being servable to a diabetic patient or a cardiac patient, without losing taste, presentation or choice.
Patrons of Sam's Café will find just as many choices, including a great summer selection of cuisines, traditional to nontraditional food, and vegetarian options. In addition to the popular soup and salad bar, daily items feature two entrees, grill items, three vegetable choices and three starch choices. The everyday staples of hot dogs and hamburgers are also available, with a new feature created by DeLosh - the "Sam's Café Sloppy Sauce". "It's our own version of Sloppy Joe sauce, and it can be used to make a Sloppy Joe sandwich or a Coney," DeLosh explained. Made-to-order Panini's, calzones or pasta is offered during the lunch hours of 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. on weekdays. And the Out Takes cooler is always stocked with ready-made sandwiches, salads, fruit cups, cheese platters, yogurt and jello choices for quick but healthy "meals on the go."
A dietary analysis is posted for almost all of the food served in Sam's Café, giving customers immediate information about their options. According to DeLosh, there are always plenty of healthy options, and she is in the process of expanding the vegetarian selection. Menu items are posted daily on the Sam's Café hotline, 419-289-0491, ext. 3417.
