PORT TOWNSEND — Chef Arran Stark spent four years redefining hospital food. In April, he plans to pick up where he left off — and then some.
“We’ve been in limbo and I don’t do limbo very well,” said Stark, 44, Jefferson Healthcare hospital’s food service manager.
“We finally have something to build a rhythm around, and that feels good.”
The cafeteria at the hospital at 834 Sheridan St., in Port Townsend will be reopened to the public April 18.
It was closed in June for refurbishing and to accommodate the construction of the hospital’s new Emergency and Special Service building, which is now scheduled to open this fall.
The reopening date was postponed several times, from October, November and February.
Stark and the 14-member staff finally moved back into the facility March 1 and will continue to “work out the kinks” for another four weeks before the reopening.
Stark took over the cafeteria in 2011, transforming it from serving heated food out of a box into a destination point for freshly prepared inexpensive menu items.
To upgrade the kitchen, construction crews rebuilt about one quarter of the kitchen area.
The new kitchen has energy-efficient appliances, new and larger refrigeration units, an updated cooking area, fresh paint and resealed floors
The upgrade will help Stark achieve his goal of providing “hospitality in the hospital,” the chef said.
Some of the expected dishes on the new menu are fresh baked chicken and quinoa-encrusted salmon, all from local sources.
The rejuvenated menu reflects Stark’s own tastes.
“Personally I’m on a health kick so I can’t help but do health-kick kind of things,” he said.
“We want to get away from the carbs and serve lean protein, vegetables and salads that we generate from local farmers as much as we can.”
In this way he is harking back to the time when Port Townsend was a sleepy village with the hospital on the hill as its most visible landmark.
The facility will be rechristened as the Garden Row Cafe, reflecting the hospital’s food management strategy 70 years ago.
At that time, Stark said, the cafeteria was in more or less the same place, but the current emergency room space contained rows of vegetables and separated groups of laying and eating chickens.
“They would butcher the chickens and grow the vegetables to feed the patients,” he said.
“We want to get back to that feel, instead of the big trucks delivering boxes of food.”
Stark cites a 1940 silent color video that is viewable at tinyurl.com/PDN-Healthy, which shows the hospital at that time and views of the town that has become modern Port Townsend.
Films of the chicken and vegetable process are viewable at the 2:44 and the 3:43 time stamps.
Stark is still finding a balance for the proper portion size.
“The portions are smaller than in some places but I’ve been accused of making the lunch portions too large,” he said.
“People expect a smaller portion at lunch, but we are looking to include about four ounces of protein.”
Prior to closing in June, cafeteria patrons could park in the lot between the hospital and Sheridan Street which is now the site of the new building.
Until its completion, visitors will need to find other parking options, such as the large lot on the hospital’s water side.
Food is served in a large room with oblong tables that holds about 60 people.
During warm weather, diners can sit in a small courtyard adjacent to the cafeteria.
The cafeteria, which has been open seven days a week, will be open for breakfast from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
This changes from before, when staff fed all of the patients first and opened to the public at 8:30 a.m.
Prior to closing last year, the cafeteria served from 100 to 150 hot meals daily.
Stark thinks this could increase to 200 before too long.
“We’ve been gone so long that the hype’s built up,” he said.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.