Calvary Adelaide Hospital reveals fine-dining menu with cordon bleu trained chef leading an international team
A team of chefs serves up more than 680 meals a day, using seasonal produce and delivering a tantalising fine-dining experience – inside one of Adelaide’s major hospitals.
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A cordon bleu trained chef who counts the Ritz Carlton and Disney among the highlights of an impressive resume, is availing his passion for dining to perhaps his toughest critics yet.
Ivan Zrinscak is the corporate services manager at Calvary Adelaide Hospital, and has an indefatigable passion for food.
While not specifically behind the boilers himself, he has recruited a team that delivers a seasonal menu that sources – as much as possible – fresh South Australian produce to satiate patients at the 344-bed CBD hospital.
TELL US: What’s your experience of the food at Calvary Hospital?
The catering department serves more than 685 meals a day, or 70kg of meat, 164kg of potatoes, and about 500 litres of soup.
“Our set up is quite elaborate,” Mr Zrinscak said.
“We cook everything fresh in house – we have a large kitchen in the hospital.
“We have a range of chefs and we usually try to find a chef to complement a diverse background, but we don’t have a preconceived idea of what a chef should be.
“We play on those strengths in the menu design.”
Dishes served up include roast lamb, caesar salads, beef goulash and roast veal, and international dishes including homemade chickpea curry, lamb korma curry, and butter chicken.
Lighter options such as a cheese plate selection or grilled salmon with tomato salsa are also regularly dished up, along with desserts including apple and rhubarb crumble, and panna cotta with vanilla bean.
The current culinary team includes chefs from the USA, Spain, India, Thailand and Australia, and the hospital has partnerships with Beerenberg, Fleurieu Milk, Golden North and Nippys.
Mr Zrinscak said the team regularly engineered new menu items, but substantial changes were generally seasonal with each chef invited and encouraged to design a dish that would cater for hospital patients.
“When it comes to the actual cost control, everything in healthcare costs money,” he said.
“We are trying to stay as seasonal and as fresh as we can in our menu engineering.
“We do often find if we are able to react to the market forces that we adjust the menu – or try and do something different.
“That doesn’t mean we will compromise on quality.”
Mr Zrinscak is a qualified cordon bleu chef trained under the Swiss model, and has worked in restaurants including the Ritz Carlton throughout Europe, Disney resorts and cruises, and with Carnival Corporation on its cruiseliner fleet.
He holds a masters degree in hospitality, and found himself living and working in Adelaide when his wife moved home to the City of Churches.
He told The Advertiser he “fell into healthcare” but has embraced the role, though admitted patients could often be the toughest critics in terms of food reviews.
Mr Zrinscak said food could be one of the few things a person could connect to when they woke up in hospital.
“Food is something people can really connect and associate with,” he said.
“While most patients give our food great reviews, we occasionally miss the mark.
“We constantly seek daily feedback, analysing patient dining experiences to understand trends and areas for improvement.
“Our team is committed to continuous improvement, taking patient feedback very seriously.
“Recently, a vegan patient’s input led us to start redesigning our offerings in that space, and we’re excited to soon launch new vegan dishes.
“Two of our vegetarian chefs are also advocating for better vegetarian and vegan options, ensuring delicious and nutritious meals for everyone.”
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