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Celebrity chef gives Tampa General Hospital's patient menu a five-star makeover

Man in a white shirt and pants spooning soup into a cup with people on the left looking on
Geoffrey Zakarian
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Celebrity chef Geoffrey Zakarian, right, assisted by Molly Swanson, conducts a tasting session in the kitchen at Tampa General Hospital on February 27, 2025.

TGH partners with Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian to elevate patient meals, part of a broader plan to deliver healthy, convenient and actually tasty food.

Let’s be honest. Hospital food? It stinks. Always has. Always will.

Except maybe not anymore. Because Tampa General Hospital — the place with the helicopters, 1,000 beds on a downtown island and that blessed AquaFence to keep the hurricanes out — just partnered with an Iron Chef to fix the menu.

Yeah, that’s Iron Chef as in Geoffrey Zakarian. “Chopped.” “The Kitchen.” “The Kitchen Sink.” And now? Tampa General’s new guy in the galley.

OK, he won’t do the cooking, but TGH says he will “revolutionize hospital food service with a new menu and delivery model.”

This isn’t Salisbury steak and a side of despair. This is grilled Gulf snapper. Bistro hanger steak. Herbed falafel pita. You can barely pronounce it, but you can definitely eat it if you happen to be hospitalized.

TGH says it’s all about healing. That good food is good medicine. That what you eat affects how you feel.

“By treating food as medicine,” hospital president and CEO John Couris says, “we’re setting our patients up for the best possible outcomes.”

Translation: No more meatloaf that bounces.

“By treating food as medicine, we’re setting our patients up for the best possible outcomes.”
John Couris, Tampa General Hospital president and CEO

Zakarian is designing menus based on the Mediterranean diet. Anti-inflammatory and rich with nutrients.

“Through my years of experience in the food service industry, I’ve seen the role that nutritious food plays in our overall well-being,” the celebrity chef says.

Even the doctors are on board.

“This partnership will not only lead to a better patient experience, but also better patient outcomes,” says Dr. Tanuja Sharma, a family physician at Tampa General. “Fresh and healthy foods are an important component of a patient’s healing process.”

And if you’re tired of that lukewarm tray showing up three minutes after your CT scan? Good news. TGH is rolling out room service. Yes, room service. In a hospital.

Order when you want, via phone or your room TV.

The future starts in October— and it comes with a side salad.

Hospital food may never be great. But at Tampa General, it may no longer be a punchline.

Renowned Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian is partnering with Tampa General Hospital to revolutionize the hospital's patient food service with a new menu and delivery model.
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Geoffrey Zakarian
Renowned Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian is partnering with Tampa General Hospital to revolutionize the hospital's patient food service with a new menu and delivery model.

I’m the online producer for Health News Florida, a collaboration of public radio stations and NPR that delivers news about health care issues.
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