Originally hailing from County Tipperary, Ireland, Anthony Lyons has firmly entrenched himself in the St. Louis food scene. His current gig as executive chef at SSM Cardinal Glennon tasks him with much more than providing inventive, scrumptious meals—he also has to make sure the hospital’s patients, workers and visitors have access to food that is as delicious as it is nutritious.
Lyon’s career began in Ireland, where he attended culinary school. He landed in St. Louis in 1994 and filled his resume with stints at some of the toniest country clubs in the city, including Greenbriar Hills, University Club, Old Warson, St. Albans and Forest Hills.
He was honored in 2012 as chef of the year by the American Culinary Federation’s Chefs de Cuisine St. Louis, a nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering education, certification and camaraderie within the culinary community that Lyons now heads as chapter president. “We’re trying to keep St. Louis’ culinary standards high and promote young chefs, as well as established chefs,” he says.
Lyons’ approach to cooking is simple: Use the best ingredients possible. “In the countryside in Ireland, a lot of what we had access to was organic products from small farmers and small producers,” he says. “There’s not a lot you have to do to quality ingredients but let their essence come out.”
But it’s not just taste that chefs at Cardinal Glennon are concerned with: Nutrition matters just as much. The hospital’s food service, run by international company Sodexo, places a heavy emphasis on healthy options, and Lyons and his team have worked to create menu items that have been tweaked so even kids on restrictive diets can partake. “We want the kids to have a choice, instead of us just saying ‘this is what you get,’” Lyons says. “If you’re in a bed for hours each day, there are two things you can control: the TV channel you watch and the food you eat.”
And when the occasion arises, Lyons tries to spread some extra joy. “We recently did a special meal for a patient who had just had a transplant,” he recalls. “She had just gotten engaged, so we did a romantic lunch for her and her fiancé.” Cooking at a hospital, as opposed to a restaurant or country club, has called for discipline in a way chefs are unused to, Lyons says. “We have to adhere to the true recipe and not vary it,” he says. “As chefs at a restaurant, we’ll add a little more salt, a little more pepper, and do things to make it to our taste. But here, we also need to promote healthy living.”
[herb-roasted chicken, seasoned vegetables & red onion marmalade]
herb roasted chicken
10 chicken breasts
1 2/3 T. each fresh chopped rosemary and parsley
1 t. each kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 T. olive oil
>>Rub chicken with oil, sprinkle with seasonings and bake in a 350° F oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
red onion marmalade
3/4 t. canola oil
2 oz. sliced red onion
1/8 t. fresh grated ginger
3/4 oz. light brown sugar
2 1/4 oz. orange marmalade
3 oz. fresh squeezed orange juice
2 1/4 t. low-sodium soy sauce
3/8 t. each cornstarch and water
>>Sauté onions and ginger in oil. Add brown sugar, marmalade and soy sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes. Mix together cornstarch and water, add to mixture and cook until thickened.
lemon garlic broccolini
1 3/4 lb. broccolini
1 1/4 oz. olive oil
1 3/8 T. chopped fresh garlic
1 1/2 t. grated lemon zest
1 1/4 oz. lemon juice
>>Trim ends from broccolini and blanch in boiling, salted water. Shock in ice water and drain. Heat oil in a pan, add broccolini and garlic, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add lemon zest and juice. Keep warm.
roasted butternut squash and pears
1 1/2 lb. fresh butternut squash, peeled and cut
4 pears, peeled, cored and cut in quarters
1 1/3 oz. light brown sugar
2/3 T. cinnamon
1/3 t. each fresh ginger and salt
2/3 t. nutmeg
1 1/3 oz. butter
>>Combine all ingredients and roast in a 350 F oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
to serve
>>Slice roasted pears. Place squash on plate, and arrange pears and broccolini nearby. Place roasted chicken over squash, and top with orange marmalade.
Photos by Bill Barrett
