Kore Wilbert, 29, is a former member of hip-hop group The Royal Illete, has twice competed on the winning team at Taste of St. Louis’ Chef Battle Royale, and from time to time he works the line at Mad Tomato and MX Movies. But as sous chef at DePaul Health Center, the L’École Culinaire graduate is a rising rock star in institutional dining, proving that cooking outside the confines of a restaurant has its perks, especially when you want to be a family man.
What’s it like to cook at a hospital?
It was a whole different world coming from a small restaurant where you feed 250 people a night to thousands of people on a daily basis.
What’s your job?
I’ve got 30 guys under me. I work with the catering staff, and we do production for the cafeteria, as well as patient room service. And we feed the other facility, St. Vincent’s. That’s behavioral health, and we feed the adults, the children, the adolescents. They give me the control to put it all together.
Is the kitchen decked out?
We have everything: flattops, ranges, 60-gallon tilt skillets. We have these really cool machines called Rationals. They are ovens and smokers and steamers. I’d never worked with one before I came here. We have four walk-ins (It took me three weeks to know where everything was.). We have a CVap, an immersion circulator – everything you can think of. And if we don’t have it we can get it, which is something that a small restaurant won’t be able to do.
Why have cutting-edge kitchen equipment at a hospital?
Usually when people are staying here, it’s because they are ill or coming to see a loved one. We want to make sure that the food is something they don’t have to worry about. That it’s something that’s really good, that’s comforting, that can maybe change their mood even just a little bit to make their stay more comfortable.
What are best-sellers at the cafeteria?
We’re never going to get rid of our chicken wings. Rice noodles and beef: All the nursing staff, if it’s that day, they are going to be there. Once a year we do soul food, which is very popular. People will bring their lunch all year, but on that day, they head right down to the cafeteria. It just let’s you know that the hospital does have a sense of community.
I’ve always perceived of hospital food as bland, gray mush.
People definitely think about it like that. But here, we’ve changed a lot of people’s minds. We don’t cut corners; we do everything from scratch. [At the cafeteria,] you’ve got a lot of options. Our “innovation station” showcases different foods from around the world: Japanese, Italian, Indian … it changes every day.
Do you miss working at a restaurant?
I do. Being on the line, putting out really good dishes, turning over an entire dining room – it’s a rush. Cooking on the line here is completely different. If I was working at a restaurant, I’d be working long nights, long hours and my family would be neglected. [There is] little to no personal life. This job gives me the time to do what I want to do. I can spend time with my kids, put them to bed every night. It’s the perfect job for a chef.
Is the mindset that a restaurant is the only place to find a job as a chef?
It is. But that’s not the only option. You can still be a chef. There are plenty of places you can go. If it’s food-related, you can get into it.
Can you still be a chef and in a hip-hop group?
I dance with my kids, but I don’t perform anymore.
-photo by Ashley Gieseking
This article appears in April 2014.