From petit filet of beef…and Moroccan spiced seared salmon…to mesquite grilled shrimp -- the OrthoColorado Hospital Celebration Menu is not what you’d expect to eat when you’re recovering from an orthopedic surgery.
Crafted by Chef Joe Colcleasure, who oversees Nutrition Services on the St. Anthony Medical Campus, the menu is designed to celebrate a patient’s recovery from surgery and “graduation” to a regular diet.
While the year-old Celebration Menu was paused in March due to COVID-19 safety precautions, the newly revised menu is back, and better than ever!
For Colcleasure, whose experience includes 20 years of fine dining management in resort hotels and is the winner of the 2017 Chef Challenge, the Celebration Menu is, “a way to break preconceived notions of what hospital food can be.”
According to Colcleasure who regularly visits OrthoColorado patients, it’s not uncommon to hear, “I can’t believe I got filet mignon in a hospital – and it tasted great!”
“The Celebration Menu has been a huge success,” says OrthoColorado Hospital CEO Jude Torchia. “It’s not uncommon for returning patients to request their favorite entrée or for new patients to tell us they’ve heard how wonderful the food is at OrthoColorado.”
Torchia added, “Chef Joe has been with us since we opened 10 years ago. His drive to continually elevate our hospital’s dining experience is key to helping us deliver a five-star experience.”
