Hospital cafe criticized for taking business from surrounding restaurants

Oct. 14—The St. Charles Parish Hospital cafeteria has become one of the more popular local lunch destinations due to its abundance of buffet options and low prices, but some have questioned whether the publicly-funded café is taking business from restaurants in the area.

The café is run by renowned chef Blaine Guillot, a lifelong resident of St. Charles who was recently selected as one of the best chefs in the state. In addition to running the Oyster’s Pearl Cafe’, Guillot is the director of food services at the hospital.

One letter the Herald-Guide received questioned why the hospital, which runs the cafeteria using public tax dollars, would market the Oyster’s Pearl as a “full-blown restaurant with take-out service, and with a professionally trained chef at the helm.”