Michelin-star chef reveals what's replacing hospital food Americans love to hate

"Hospital food" has agelong been synonymous with packaged, ultraprocessed meals — contempt the information that hospitals are meant to beforehand healing.

In an exclusive interrogation with Fox News Digital astatine the Great American State Fair successful Washington, D.C., Michelin Star cook Geoffrey Zakarian shared his inaugural to amended what is served successful U.S. hospitals, pursuing the conception that "food is medicine."

For the past 3 years, Zakarian said he’s been moving connected changing infirmary nutrient — astir notably astatine Tampa General, which is simply a $4 cardinal nonprofit, 1,000-bed nationalist hospital.

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On Thursday, July 16, Tampa General Hospital CEO John Couris signed the "Make Hospital Food Healthier" pledge during a quality league attended by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins and Zakarian.

Michelin prima cook Geoffrey Zakarian sat down with Fox News Digital astatine the Great American State Fair successful Washington, D.C., connected July 6, 2026. (Angelica Stabile/Fox News Digital)

The pledge commits the infirmary to serving much nutritious, minimally processed meals to patients, gathering connected Zakarian's paper overhaul.

"We’ve changed the full menu," the personage cook told Fox News Digital. "We've taken each effect oils out, sugar, maltodextrin. Anything atrocious successful a container is gone. Anything bully is brought in."

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"We're serving mac and cheese. We're serving hanger steak and fries. We're serving chickenhearted with couscous. We bash each our macromolecule shakes. No macromolecule shakes successful the container anymore. We bash effect shakes, smoothies, caller sorbet," the cook listed. "So, you're eating similar your grandmother's cooking for you."

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz has besides supported Zakarian successful this mission, telling Fox News Digital that the cook has "revolutionized our thinking" astir infirmary food.

Michelin prima cook Geoffrey Zakarian and CMS Administrator Dr. Oz spoke with Fox News Digital astatine the Great American State Fair successful Washington, D.C., connected July 6, 2026. (Angelica Stabile/Fox News Digital)

"How bash we get the hospitals to bash what [Zakarian] has been doing the frontier enactment on, get them to really clasp nutrient arsenic portion of the healing process?" helium questioned. "Because astir patients, and astir doctors, cognize that the nutrient successful the infirmary is not going to marque you better."

Oz noted that portion infirmary nutrient whitethorn supply immoderate nutrients, it is mostly not seen arsenic contributing meaningfully to patients' recovery.

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The biggest situation to getting amended nutrient into infirmary systems has been cost, Zakarian pointed out.

While "everything is fractionalized," what’s near implicit aft paying for supplies is enactment toward food, which mostly "ain’t much," helium said.

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"It's, like, $3.50 a idiosyncratic per plate, which is an extraordinarily tiny amount," the cook said. "You spell to McDonald's and you walk 12 bucks for a blessed meal, and we springiness you $3.50 successful a hospital. So that's an unhappy repast arsenic acold arsenic I'm concerned."

Instead of charging hospitals for each sheet served, Zakarian's attack relies connected a level yearly fee, redeeming wealth done a smaller, higher-quality menu.

Tampa General Hospital (not pictured) worked with a cook to revamp its paper and marque it much nutritious. (iStock)

"Yummy food, not conscionable nutrient to capable radical up," helium said. "Nutritious food, bioavailable food, nutrient that's satiating."

"I'm cooking similar I would navigator successful a restaurant. I'm cooking similar my parent cooked for me. There's nary difference."

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The cook continued, "When you're lying successful furniture successful a infirmary gown, you consciousness alone, you consciousness exposed, you consciousness sick … When you person a caller macromolecule shingle oregon a caller steadfast smoothie, oregon you tin bid steak frites ... that [makes] your day."

Freelance writer Teresa Mull contributed to this report.