South 19th Street Bistro

Story Medical’s 19th Street Bistro, managed by the Food and Nutrition Services department at Story County Medical Center, offers breakfast and lunch to the public. Patients and residents are always welcome to eat in the bistro with their guests if their condition allows.

Breakfast is served from 7:15am until 9:30 a.m., Monday through Friday.  Every day there is assorted fresh fruit, cereals, pastries/breakfast bars and hot breakfast items available to community members and employees.

Hot lunch items including two entrees, sides and desserts are served from 11:00am until 1:00pm, Monday through Friday. In addition, Story Medical offers to-go entre salads and a small salad bar for those choosing to dine in.

For more information or to hear the daily menu selections, please contact the Story Medical South Campus kitchen at (515) 382-7722.

History of the Bistro & Story Medical Chef Jordan Heath

If you’ve eaten at Story County Medical Center in the last year, whether you were a patient, visitor or employee, you’ve probably noticed that the “hospital food” isn’t quite what you expected.

Story Medical made a major change in our food and nutrition services department in 2009; we decided to hire a restaurant-trained chef, Jordan Heath. 

In conjunction with his hire, Story Medical’s food & nutrition services department (FNS) also decided to make a few improvements in their food service. More fresh foods would be used in the kitchen, patients would have restaurant-style menus in their rooms, and the new south campus cafeteria would become South 19th Street Bistro, a gathering place not only for employees and visitors, but for community members as well.

Since his move from Aunt Maude’s Restaurant in Ames to Story County Medical Center, Heath has been helping the medical center transform its kitchen into a more customer-focused environment. 

Heath, who left the restaurant world in hopes of finding more time to spend with his family, noted that there are many differences between working in a restaurant and in the healthcare setting. Food temperatures and delivery times are more precise in healthcare, and there are additional regulations, standards and dietary modifications for his consumers.

“Quality, though, can cross lines between restaurants and healthcare,” explained Heath. “I’ve tried to incorporate some new, fresh ingredients and spices into recipes and really bring culinary techniques into the kitchen.”

“At Maude’s I learned to be more creative, use more upscale ingredients and challenge myself,” Heath recounts. “I try to be innovative in the culinary aspect and respond to the needs and wants of our customer.”

This summer, the FNS department did just that. Many employees and community members brought in extra vegetables from their gardens and South 19th Street Bistro incorporated them into their dishes. In addition, the FNS department purchased a Farm to Folk CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share from Ames and also used produce from local farmers, such as Wild Greens Farm, a farm outside of Nevada, to create new and exiting dishes.

Another aspect that differs from the restaurant world, Heath noted, is the number of team members, as well as other departments, that have to work together to prepare three meals a day, 365 days a year for a variety of individuals at two locations.

“The food and nutrition services department is definitely not just me cooking,” said Heath. “It’s a group effort that includes getting hospital patients’ meals ready, Senior Care meals prepared for residents, as well as serving employees and guests in two cafeterias and catering numerous internal events. There are hundreds of things that go on in the kitchens of the medical center on a daily basis.”

In fiscal year 2010, Story Medical served 90,000 meals, and the kitchen just keeps getting busier. Story Medical employees nearly 25 FNS employees and is continuously working to keep up with the demand for more meals to be served each day.

The increase is credited to higher patient and Senior Care resident admissions, the public becoming more aware of South 19th Street Bistro’s offerings, and an increase in internal catering.

“The internal catering events we provide have allowed me to be imaginative in the kitchen,” said Heath, who caters to the Board of Trustees meetings, employee events, district-wide meetings and some major medical center events.

When asked where he gets his inspiration from, Heath said his family led him to the culinary field.

“Most of my family members cook. When I was a kid, they’d make me taste something and then put me on the spot to know what ingredients were in their food,” said Heath. “I learned a lot about spices and flavors from their little lessons.”

Heath also likes watching television cooking shows. Gordon Ramsey from Hell’s Kitchen is his favorite.

“I was a lot like him back in the day,” laughs Heath. “I’ve softened my approach a little since then.”

Heath, who lives in McCallsburg, has worked in kitchens since he was 15 years old. He started his career as a fast-food restaurant cook, and when he was 18 moved to Seattle to begin working his way through the five-star restaurant ranks.

“I started doing dishes,” remembers Heath. “I worked my way up, did salads for a year and then moved on to more advanced positions. I learned from a big German chef!”

He got his first taste of an institutional kitchen while working at a federal and state prison work-release program, but eventually made his way back to restaurants. Heath is currently in the Dietary Managers Association program through DMACC and will take the certified dietary manager exam in October.

“The entire FNS staff has really taken on the challenge of improving the quality of food served for our patients, residents, employees and guests in the last year including a couple of us furthering our culinary educations,” said Heath. “I feel like we all take pride in our work and the food that we serve. We will continue to build South 19th Street Bistro as a great option for the community.”