Bay Area hospital launches new gourmet food options

Sept. 19—Of all the places you might choose to eat, a hospital might not be on the top of the list. But now one Bay Area hospital is working to change that by turning to the culinary world for assistance.

For executive chef Jacques Wilson, searing the meat is just the first step in bringing out the flavor; tweaking the sauce comes next.

"We actually add more onions and garlic, and then we strain it," explains Wilson.

With the nuanced recipes and attention to detail, the state-of-the-art kitchen he's working in could be the heart of a high end restaurant. It's quite different from how it looked when Wilson arrived.

"Quite frankly, when I first came here we were in the old hospital, and I looked around and said, 'Oh, my gosh,'" he remembers.

He came to El Camino Hospital in Mountain View with the mission of re-inventing, and possibly redeeming that infamous cuisine known around the world as "hospital food".