Dietetic interns nourish with a theme in mind at Madigan

By Kirstin Grace-SimonsFebruary 7, 2023

Punch
1 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Lauren Bickley, a registered dietitian, serves herself some raspberry lemonade fizz during a tasting panel for an upcoming themed meal at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Dynamite sloppy joe
2 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – “Dynamite sloppy joes” were on the menu for the New England Fare themed meal at the Grille at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Vegetarian roll
3 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Vegetarian lobster rolls featuring hearts of palm offer a meat alternative on the New England Fare themed meal at the Madigan Grille at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Tryon
4 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 2nd Lt. Evan Tryon poses with the menu for his New England Fare themed meal at the Madigan Grille on Feb. 2, on Joint Base Lewis-McChord., Wash. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Line up
5 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Madigan Grille at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., is filled with customers ready to try items on the New England Fare themed meal, on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Choices
6 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Some visitors to the Madigan Grille, at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Feb. 2., for the New England Fare themed meal, find it difficult to choose which items to try. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Pay station
7 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Adrianne Pozas provides excellent customer service to Soldiers paying for their meals during the New England Fare themed meal at the Grille at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Grill line
8 / 8 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Rubyanna Gibson works the grill to serve selections on the New England Fare themed meal menu at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL

MADIGAN ARMY MEDICAL CENTER, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. – Have you been to the Madigan Grille to partake in one of its excellent themed meals? Have you wondered how that came about? Well, it’s a product of the Army’s Graduate Program in Nutrition, a combined effort of the AMEDD Center & School, Baylor University and internship sites at Brooke Army Medical Center, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and Madigan.

The interns, who are second lieutenants, spend 10 months completing classroom training at the C&S in San Antonio, Texas, after which they head to one of the sites for a 12-month internship at one of the military treatment facilities.

This year, Madigan is hosting four interns – 2nd Lt. Lynette Mientus, 2nd Lt. Sarah Nowroozian, 2nd Lt. Dana Robertson and 2nd Lt. Evan Tryon.

Maj. Brittney Nicole, the chief of Production and Service Branch of the Nutrition Care Division at Madigan, gives a bit of insight into the internship program.

“Interns spend 10 weeks conducting food service operations and management rotations, which culminate in planning and executing a theme meal. This project requires months of work and an in-depth knowledge of the foodservice operation, from specialized system entry and planning, to ordering, storing, marketing, and managing the production of the meal to approximately 1,000 patrons,” she said.

On Thursday, Feb. 2, 2nd Lt. Evan Tryon hosted his meal – New England Fare. The menu included apple-brined chicken, herb-crusted Atlantic salmon, lobster mac n cheese, Narragansett succotash, Boston baked beans, Harvard beets, wheat roll with maple butter, apple cranberry walnut salad, New England clam chowder, dynamite sloppy joe, vegetarian lobster roll and maple bread pudding and blueberry pie.

How did he come up with this theme and menu? Easy, he is from New London, Conn. He went to Springfield College where he discovered “the Big Eat” in said Massachusetts town.

Tryon described attending this annual event for the first time as a real revelation.

He explained they have a house for each state where they have their best foods; people come through and sample the best of each New England state.

He took his inspiration from that event. Given the crowds and the talk afterwards, Tryon’s “big eat” was a big hit.

Even though he had inspiration at the ready, both from a lifetime of eating his hometown fare as well as the annual food event, he still put a lot of work into the meal. He presented a tasting panel weeks before the scheduled meal to roll out recipes to willing staff to try out in order to provide feedback so he could refine the recipes and presentation.

From the score sheets he collected at that panel, he upped the amount of lobster in the mac n cheese and didn’t mess with the resounding success of the maple bread pudding that received a unanimous five out of five in scoring.

If you are now kicking yourself for having missed this meal, not to worry, there are more interns to take on the themed meal challenge.

Behind the line
1 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. 1st Class Kristi Story and Maj. Brittney Nicole (left to right), the noncommissioned officer-in-charge and chief of Production & Services Branch of the Nutrition Care Division at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., serve up fare for a tasting panel for an upcoming themed meal on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Interns
2 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Madigan Army Medical Center’s dietetic interns, 2nd Lt. Sarah Nowroozian, 2nd Lt. Lynette Mientus, 2nd Lt. Dana Robertson and 2nd Lt. Evan Tryon (left to right), test dishes at a tasting panel for an upcoming themed meal at the Madigan Grille on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Watching the line
3 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 2nd Lt. Sarah Nowroozian (right) a dietetic intern, watches as colleagues line up to test out recipes she’s readying for the upcoming Black History Month themed meal at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., serve up fare for a tasting panel for an upcoming themed meal on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Tasting
4 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Traci Taipale, a dietitian at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., tries out a dish being tested for an upcoming themed meal for the Madigan Grille on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Tablescape
5 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Themed meals involve more than just food, they also offer education on the theme. For a tasting panel, the intern developing the Black History Month themed meal presents materials for customer to peruse at the Madigan Grille on Feb. 2, on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL
Tryon serving
6 / 6 Show Caption + Hide Caption – 2nd Lt. Evan Tryon, a dietetic intern at Madigan Army Medical Center on Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., serves up food being tested by a tasting panel for an upcoming themed meal at the Madigan Grille on Feb. 2. (Photo Credit: DoD Photo by Kirstin Grace-Simons) VIEW ORIGINAL

On Thursday, Feb. 16, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 2nd Lt. Sarah Nowroozian will lead the Madigan Grille in celebrating Black History Month with a meal that will include peri peri chicken with flavors from Mozambique, spicy berbere lentil chili making good use of the spice combination from Ethiopia and the southern U.S. classic peach cobbler, among other tasty dishes.

In general, the Madigan Grille has a themed meal roughly once a month, often along the lines of cultural monthly observances, like Black History Month. Anyone with access to the base is welcome to enjoy the fare the Grille offers up at any of these meals, or just your everyday lunch.

Madigan’s Web and Social Media Links:

Madigan's Website:

https://madigan.tricare.mil/

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www.Facebook.com/Madiganhealth

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www.Twitter.com/Madiganhealth

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www.Instagram.com/Madiganmedicine

Madigan’s LinkedIn:

www.Linkedin.com/company/madigan-army-medical-center/

Madigan’s YouTube:

www.youtube.com/c/MadiganArmyMedicalCenter