Food for Health: How Hospital Chefs are Redefining Healthcare

When we talk about healthcare transformation, we often focus on doctors, policies, and clinical innovation. But what if one of the most powerful agents of change is wearing a chef’s coat?

Colourful smoothie bowl topped with avocado, dragon fruit, toasted coconut, and chia seeds.

In our latest PAN International webinar, Dr Robert Graham—a Harvard-trained physician and professionally trained chef—shares why hospital kitchens are ground zero for revolutionising patient care, improving sustainability, and restoring dignity in healing environments.

From Prescription Pads to Rooftop Gardens

With over two decades of experience in internal, integrative, and culinary medicine, Dr Graham has helped lead a quiet but powerful movement: using food as a foundational element in healthcare. From launching the first rooftop garden at a hospital in New York City to advocating for medically tailored meals and plant-based hospital menus, his message is clear: “If hospitals are places of healing, why are we feeding patients the foods that made them sick?”

Key Takeaways from the Webinar

• Hospital chefs are change agents. Their daily decisions directly impact patient recovery, staff wellbeing, and planetary health.

• Food is medicine—and cooking is medicine. Culinary skills in the kitchen are as vital as clinical decisions in the exam room.

• Systemic change is possible. When hospitals invest in quality food service, patient satisfaction and health outcomes improve—while costs and emissions decline.

• Cultural and culinary relevance matters. Meals should honour the tastes, needs, and identities of the communities they serve.

Join the Movement

The webinar was hosted by the Global Healthy Hospital Food Network, an initiative co-founded by PAN International alongside Greener by Default and Plant-Based Health Professionals UK. The network already connects food service professionals, dietitians, doctors, and chefs from 18 countries—and is growing fast.

Watch the full webinar here and join the conversation on PANCO.

Let’s reimagine hospital food—one plate, one policy, one patient at a time!