‘HOSPITAL food’ and ‘award-winning’ might not be phrases usually put together but a Duncraig sous chef changed that this month.
Glengarry Private Hospital’s Vivek Shetty won the top prize at the WA Institute of Hospitality in Healthcare’s annual awards night on July 5 for his outstanding leadership.
Catering manager Ashok Kumar nominated the Greenwood resident for the award and described him as a passionate and creative kitchen professional who brought style to the hospital’s menu.
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“He has 13 years’ culinary experience in international five-star hotels and cruise lines – he genuinely is driven to ensure patients get an amazing food experience whilst in hospital,” Mr Kumar said.
“Vivek strongly believes that catering staff should be delivering meals that are tasty as well as nutritious whilst in hospital.
“Vivek started at the hospital as our sous chef at a time when the site was going through a lot of change and our kitchen, which produces hundreds of patient meals each day, really needed strong leadership.
“He took lots of responsibility and created structure in the team.”
Mr Shetty instigated a fundraising drive to start an employee-run herb garden for the kitchen at hospital run by Ramsay Health Care.
“Most importantly, patients absolutely love the food we serve – which isn’t something you would normally associate with hospital food, but this is something that Vivek prides himself on delivering,” Mr Kumar said.
Joondalup hospital worker wins award for customer service
Another Ramsay Health Care employee, Nick Jones, was also a winner at the July 5 awards.
The Joondalup Health Campus patient transport supervisor won the ‘exceptional customer service’ category.
His manager and nominee Andrew Lindsay, said it was well-deserved for Mr Jones, who has worked for the hospital for more than 20 years.
“Nick is so well-known throughout the hospital for going above and beyond,” Mr Lindsay said.
“He is absolutely unwavering in his resolve and willingness to make sure staff and customers are well treated – and this is at the heart of everything he does.
“You see him taking patients from one area of the hospital to the other and he is invariably kind and good-humoured.
“His affable nature is so highly infectious and he has this enthusiastic spirit that has seen him befriend many co-workers across every discipline.
“From the start of his employment at the Joondalup Health Campus in 1999 he has set deep roots within the organisation, growing stronger with time, offering support to all.”
Chief executive Kempton Cowan described Mr Jones as ‘a legend in the hospital’.
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