OMC dietary team’s winning dish

Oconee Medical Center chef Emily Hancock and dietitians Heather Summers, April Howe and Estella Hudak are credited with coming up with a three-course meal that took first place during a hospital food-cooking contest last week in Charleston. The guidelines that teams from 10 South Carolina hospitals had to follow required a dish that met specific nutritional guidelines including restrictions on calories, total fat, saturated fat and sodium. They came up with a shrimp trio sampler with tzatziki and remoulade sauces and salsa in a watermelon cube. The entrée was spicy black bean and chickpea sliders on a wheat bun, topped with avocado cilantro slaw and served with an orange and jicama salad. Dessert consisted of a blueberry and lemon delight served with a gingersnap wafer. From scratch they had two hour window to finish. “We are breaking free from the stereotype that hospital good tastes bad by demonstrating that healthy food can also taste good,” said Brian Cassell, general manager with responsibility for dietary and housekeeping services at OMC.