A self-taught artist in the kitchen area, Chef Tony Robles has cooked with the good ones. In his days at Star Canyon Restaurant, he trained under one of Dallas' most renowned chefs, Stephan Pyles, and it has tallied up numerous awards not only for his cooking but how he runs a kitchen. He's a self-professed soup master with an earth-shattering black bean soup recipe. Every single day, he adopts work and prepares fresh made-to-order masterpieces by having an eye for color and flair.
But Chef Tony has left the restaurant business in favor of sauteing the same top quality cuisine at Texas Health Center for Diagnostics & Surgery (THCDS) in Plano, where since 2005, he's served thousands of patients and doctors.
\”Hospitals are [traditionally] structured around time,\” Chef Tony tells me. \”But as some time and medicine has changed, expectations for patients has evolved too.\” Rather than following a strict schedule, someone can call right down to the kitchen and place an order whenever they want. Every single day Chef Tony supplies a different menu to browse, a Mediterranean bent eventually, a Southwest squint or perhaps a French twist the following. Are you currently on the broth diet? Gluten-free? Vegan? Picky? Chef Tony easily veers off menu, doing \”everything he can\” to focus on each patient's individual needs. He's weathered stormy chefs and that he has an unshakeable feeling of chilled-out that means his food.
\”I judge the elements and what's seasonal. I attempt to toss in a little comfort food and provide some variety.\” He describes his menu in terms of whimsy, a bit of this, a little of that. He allow me to sample probably the most popular dishes. Flamboyant mushroom enchiladas arrive smothered in a deep red roasted salsa, pico and corn. Even plastic silverware cuts effortlessly through a grilled beef tenderloin and yukon potatoes soaked in a port demi-glace that whispers of mushroom and shallots-clearly simmered on your own. A generous cut of blackened salmon with herb oil arrives having a blanket of grilled pineapple salsa, just sweet enough to add tropical color. Even the steamed vegetables on the side are tenderly seasoned, not the bland, mushy microwave taste that's usually inevitable on hospital plates. Every meal has a drink, dinner roll along with a side salad with a choice of dressing.
\”We discover that people heal faster when their nutritional needs are met,\” Chef Tony explains. \”It constitutes a huge difference, having fresh thyme, rosemary, basil, shallots. As soon as they place the order, we cook it. It's a good quality product for that patient.\” The crowning glory might be the breakfast menu-available the whole day. Or perhaps it is the three dozen fresh cookies that Chef Tony whips up every afternoon for families within the waiting room-or the lemon cake with raspberry cheesecake filling with a staircase of whipped cream and berries quietly.
\”It's a mindset,\” Chef Tony says. \”We want to make a connection through food and make people feel at ease.\” Patients undergoing or recovering from surgery are already stressed. Often their senses are blanketed with medication. They may not have access to huge appetites, especially given that hospital food accustomed to resemble cooked socks. But, if they are given their selection of an entree, which smells mouth-watering and is full of color, they're more likely to obtain the nutrition they require.
\”They like Mexican the best, I think,\” Chef Tony lets on. \”I make a mean black bean soup.\” Typically the most popular day is quesadilla day. \”I possess a guy who helps make the best salsa. We become unattainable of that.\”
After an existence in the slice 'em dice 'em world of Executive Chef-hood, Chef Tony finds fitness as well. After many years of 20-hour days and falling into bed at 2 a.m., he's enjoying a slower pace and better standard of living. He seems to be at peace in his kitchen, free to let the creativity flow and tinker with dishes until he's gotten it right. \”I sleep just like a baby during the night,\” he says proudly. \”No stress and with these feelings that I did something good.\”