The Association for Healthcare Foodservice named a Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital sous chef its Future Horizons Award winner.
Certified Chef de Cuisine Nicholas Mercogliano is set to receive the award at AHF annual conference in Orlando, Fla., in June.
The Future Horizons Award is presented to AHF operator members who have practiced in the healthcare foodservice industry for five years or fewer, are new to management and demonstrate a desire for future growth through contributions to their hospitals or community.
Mercogliano has been a member of the RWJ food and nutrition department for the past two years. He was initially hired as a cook and promoted to sous chef within six months.
Mercogliano works closely with the front line cooks under the leadership of the executive chef to assure that the quality and presentation always meet expectations. He enjoys making rounds to talk with patients regarding their food service experience.
Other contributions include creating and managing a departmental website, helping increase Press Ganey scores by rounding on challenging units to increase overall score, creating new recipes to increase sales in the dining room and handling all display cooking for community outreach programs at RWJ Health Center.
Mercogliano achieved the Certified Chef de Cuisine designation from the American Culinary Federation. He holds a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts from Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts and an associate’s degree in culinary arts from Culinary Institute of America.
He is involved in the Greater New Jersey Society for Healthcare Foodservice Administrators and is the 2013-2014 Chairperson for the ACF Jersey Shore Chef’s Association Winterfest event, which raises money for scholarships for culinary students and food banks of Ocean and Union counties. He also serves on the board of directors for the American Culinary Federation: Jersey Shore Chef’s Association.
More information is online at healthcarefoodservice.org.
