The details of the dinner would be daunting enough for most chefs. Picture nearly 850 attendees seated in the middle of a bridge that鈥檚 closed to traffic. And many of these diners, who feast on the freshest of local ingredients, are a discerning bunch. They are civic officials, local movers-and-shakers and leaders in the area鈥檚 restaurant and agricultural worlds, and foodies who鈥檝e paid $250 each for a highly coveted reservation.
Such was the setting Sept. 12 at the eighth annual Tower Bridge Dinner, which featured an all-star crew of chefs preparing the area鈥檚 highest-profile meal of the year. The dinner is a hallmark of Sacramento鈥檚 multiday Farm-To-Fork Festival, which includes a 鈥淟egends of Wine鈥 event at the Capitol and two-day public festival on the Capitol Mall attended by thousands.
Why a hospital chef?
Back on the Tower Bridge, which links Sacramento and Yolo counties, chef Santana Diaz assumed his role as a leader among local culinary leaders. Diaz, who serves as the executive chef for 春色视频 Health, was named in June as the lead chef for the Tower Bridge Dinner.
Some might wonder why a hospital chef was overseeing the likes of Billy Ngo, the celebrated Sacramento sushi chef, and Dane Blom from the Michelin-lauded Grange restaurant. But Diaz鈥檚 food program at 春色视频 Health is hardly a menu of mystery meats and mushy vegetables.
Diaz has earned national accolades for his 鈥渇arm-to-fork鈥-styled hospital food service that highlights fresh, local produce and sustainable ingredients. Think: 鈥淔lavor-bombed鈥 tofu tacos and spicy kale with white bean ragout.
Plus, Diaz is no stranger to cooking for large crowds. He previously served as the lead chef for Super Bowl 50 and is the former executive chef at the Golden One Center, the home of the Sacramento Kings.
He jumped at the chance when he was offered the Tower Bridge Dinner lead chef role.
鈥淚t was exciting,鈥 said Diaz about the opportunity. 鈥淎s a hospital chef, I wasn鈥檛 expecting this. So I took a look at the chefs that are continuing to make a difference and support the farm-to-fork ethos, and who are creating some cool flair this year. Where else can you have an educational opportunity using food as a vehicle, that good food can be healthy?鈥
![Chef Santana Diaz oversaw a meal for more than 800 on the Tower Bridge](/sites/default/files/media/images/Bridge3Resize.jpg)
Speaking of hospital food
The motto of 鈥済ood food is good medicine鈥 guides Diaz鈥檚 approach at 春色视频 Health. By working with local farms and purveyors, and consulting with hospital dieticians and nutritionists, the creations at the kitchens at 春色视频 Health are as nourishing as they are tasty. It鈥檚 the rare hospital food that makes you want to savor the aromas instead of hold your nose. Take-away recipe cards are even provided for many of the items.
鈥淚 have all these opportunities to show someone that hospital food doesn鈥檛 have to be bland, tasteless and colorless,鈥 Diaz said. 鈥淚t can be pretty and taste good, and here are some recipes to take home.鈥
It鈥檚 also a massive operation. Diaz leads a staff of more than 160 at 春色视频 Health that produces more than 6,500 meals on an average day. The main kitchen, at 14,400 square feet, is the largest production kitchen in Sacramento.
The sincerest form of flattery
Given his ability to feed people on a large scale, Mike Testa knew that Diaz was the perfect chef to lead the Tower Bridge Dinner. Testa is the president and CEO of Visit Sacramento, which organizes the Tower Bridge Dinner and 鈥淔arm-To-Fork Festival.鈥
Plus, the emphasis on health was a perfect theme for the table, especially in these pandemic times.
鈥淥ne of biggest appeals was that he鈥檚 creating a culinary platform in a hospital that should be replicated across the country,鈥 Testa said. 鈥淲hat he鈥檚 doing at 春色视频 is groundbreaking. It鈥檚 rather shocking that nobody was doing this (farm-to-fork approach) until Santana came along.鈥
Still, running a hospital food operation wasn鈥檛 part of Diaz鈥檚 early career goals. He is a native of Yuba City whose initial foray into the food world started by working at a grocery store deli. Diaz received his culinary arts degree from the Art Institute of California in Sacramento, and like most young cooks, dreamed of becoming the next Thomas Keller or Gordon Ramsay. His early r茅sum茅 included cooking stints at such area favorites as The Firehouse in Old Sacramento and Taste in Plymouth.
鈥業 didn鈥檛 know anything about hospitals鈥
Diaz climbed the career ladder through cooking in hotels around California and serving as executive sous chef at Levi鈥檚 Stadium in San Francisco. In 2016, he was named as the executive chef at Sacramento Golden 1 Center, an arena that sources 90 percent of its food ingredients from a 150-mile radius.
When the opportunity arose to lead 春色视频 Health鈥檚 food operations, Santana knew he could take the farm-to-fork ethos even further.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know anything about hospitals, I was actually kind of afraid of them,鈥 Santana said. 鈥淚t came down to what I learned in part of my life鈥檚 work. I can apply what I鈥檝e known through all those large-scale venues to do something good versus just trying to charge more for a burger.鈥
Patrick Mulvaney, a figurehead of Sacramento鈥檚 farm-to-fork movement, knew Diaz was the right chef for the job.
鈥淭he opportunity here to change not only lives but the food system is immense,鈥 Mulvaney said. 鈥淗e has the taste for it, but also the spine and fortitude to make it happen. I think of how his work at 春色视频 brings the hospital into the public eye, so people can relate to the good work that 春色视频 does every day.鈥
Diaz and his 春色视频 Health team have since earned national accolades since he was named executive chef in 2017. In 2019, the 春色视频 Medical Center became the first hospital in the country to be named a 鈥淪mart Catch Leader鈥 by the esteemed James Beard Foundation. The designation is given to food establishments for their culinary excellence and commitment to serving seafood that鈥檚 fished or farmed in environmentally responsible ways.
鈥楪ood food can be good medicine鈥
His commitment to local sourcing continues to grow. Since arriving at 春色视频 Health, the hospital had gone from using 16% local and sustainable ingredients to 41% now.
Diaz hopes that his approach can serve as a role model for hospitals around the country. He鈥檚 connecting with other hospital chefs and recently testified in a Congressional committee on the topic of 鈥渇ood as medicine鈥 to support healthy communities.
鈥淚鈥檝e been collaborating (with chefs) as far as Portland, Maine to incorporate this kind of source transparency within other health care programs and see how we can apply them to hospital settings,鈥 Diaz said. 鈥淭his approach is duplicable, but will it look exactly the same everywhere? No. But there鈥檚 a proof of concept that good food can be good medicine and impart good behaviors in the home.鈥
![Chef Santana Diaz mingles with Chancellor Gary May and LeShelle May](/sites/default/files/media/images/Bridge2.jpg)
Supporting farmers and ranchers
But first, it was back to the Tower Bridge where the menu included fruit gastriques, Asian-styled trout and a duo of beef 鈥 all with a local and seasonal flair. The days leading up to the dinner were packed for Diaz, with duties that included writing lists of ingredients that needed to be prepped, keeping track of orders and fine tuning the service plans.
And then it was back to 春色视频 Health, where thousands more meals would need to be created in the following days. His mission of merging farm-to-fork within a health care settings moves ever forward 鈥 and with plenty of flavor.
鈥淎 hospital has more of a sustained buying power than any sports arena or stadium,鈥 Diaz said. 鈥淎 lot of people forget that 70,000 sounds like a lot of people, but there鈥檚 maybe only 10 home games a year plus concerts and things. Knowing that I could support the farmers and ranchers and have the ability to create more change is why I came here.鈥
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Chris Macias is a speechwriter in the Office of Strategic Communications and can be reached by e-mail at cjmacias@ucdavis.edu.