WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A hospital cafeteria might not be the first place to come to mind when planning where to eat your holiday meal, but guest chef David Koerner would like the chance to delight your taste buds.
“I’m very excited to be able to offer visitors something really special over the holiday season,” he said.
Starting Dec. 25-28, for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., the Ardmore Tower Cafeteria at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital will be offering traditional holiday fare as well as special entrees and sides to celebrate Kwanzaa. On Dec. 25 guests can enjoy baked ham, turkey, turnip greens, sweet potato soufflé, macaroni and cheese, cornbread dressing and assorted pies.
Kwanzaa begins Wednesday, Dec. 26 and is an American festival that honors African America with seven days of observation centered on seven principles or beliefs. Koerner, a visiting guest chef with Sodexho, and hospital chef Steffan Winbush have taken to heart the Swahili word “karamu,” which means “great feast.”
On the 26th, visitors can enjoy chef-carved Tunisian marinated roast beef, Southern red rice, and sour cream pound cake. Thursday, Dec. 27, the menu features seafood jambalaya, sweet potato soufflé, glazed carrots and sweet fried plantains. On Friday, Dec. 28, don’t miss smoked turkey gumbo, crusted baked macaroni and cheese, creamed spinach and peach brown betty cobbler. The cost for these Kwanzaa specials, is $5 per plate.
Koerner and Hopkins began their holiday menus in early December when they featured some specialties for Hanukkah. That went over so well, they decided to carry it through to the new year.
“Food and holiday celebrations naturally bring people together,” Koerner said. “We expand ourselves when we learn about other cultures and provide joy when we do celebrations such as this.”
If you do stop by during the holidays, Koerner has also set up a special Kwanzaa display with books and information.
Ardmore Tower Cafeteria is located on the mail level of Ardmore Tower. The daily cafeteria menu can be viewed at www1.wfubmc.edu/food/Ardmore+Menu, or you can call the menu line at 713-3052.
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Media contact: Bonnie Davis, bdavis@wfubmc.edu; or Shannon Koontz, shkoontz@wfubmc.edu, (336) 716-4587.
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university’s School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,154 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report.
Media Relations
Main Number: news@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-4587