The phrase, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” is attributed to Hippocrates of ancient Greece, considered the father of medicine. To that end, the Food an Nutrition team of Orlando Heath St. Cloud Hospital, including Executive Chef Roberto Santiago, regularly creates a menu that includes traditional Hispanic dishes familiar to many of their patients and staff from Osceola County’s large Hispanic community.
“While not all of our patients might be able to deviate from a proscribed medical diet, our staff and the families of our patients can certainly enjoy some traditional Hispanic dishes in our café,” said Santiago.
To demonstrate traditional Hispanic cooking as a kickoff for Hispanic Heritage Month, Chef Santiago selected to make Puerto Rican pasteles, a Christmas tradition in the island. The pasteles are made with pork and sofrito stuffing encased in a green plantain massa and wrapped in banana leaves. The process is timeconsuming and labor-intensive, so families gather to share the work over the Christmas season and can make hundreds to be eaten during the holidays, and frozen to consume up to the start of Lent.
“I came to Florida from Puerto Rico in 1998, working in restaurants all of that time until now. When I started at Orlando Health, I could not see any reason not to make the kind of high-quality food I have always made,” said Santiago.
Chef Santiago said he takes the effort to discover the cultures of many of the regular customers of the hospital’s café, including the hospital staff and others, like the ambulance crews that routinely transport patients to the hospital. Pasteles are enjoyed throughout the greater Caribbean, and each country has a slightly different way of making them. This includes in Jamaica, and a variety enjoyed by the Indian communities also found across the region, according to Chef Santiago.
The patients able to partake of the hospital café’s special Hispanic offerings often express surprise and gratitude for the thought and love that goes into preparing the “taste of home” dishes, according to the café’s team.
National Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
