Disfrutar chefs Oriol Castro and Eduard Xatruch have created a special Christmas menu that will be served to 70,000 patients and healthcare workers across 120 Spanish hospitals.
The three-Michelin-starred chefs, whose Barcelona restaurant was named the world’s best last year, collaborated with collective catering company Serunion to design festive dishes that bring fine dining comfort to hospital wards on December 25th.
The initiative represents the fourth year that Serunion has invited celebrated chefs to design Christmas menus for hospitals.
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Furthermore, this year’s collaboration has generated particular excitement among hospital kitchen staff, who prepared the dishes under the chefs’ supervision at Clínica Diagonal in Esplugues de Llobregat. Consequently, the resulting menu combines Michelin-starred creativity with nutritional expertise from Serunion’s dietitians.
Disfrutar Chefs Bring Festive Comfort To Hospital Wards
The Christmas menu features three carefully crafted courses that balance festive flavours with hospital dietary requirements. Firstly, a delicate vegetable cannelloni showcases seasonal produce prepared in various ways – blanched, marinated, or roasted – wrapped in thin courgette slices. Secondly, a succulent chicken casserole includes a Christmas-style picada with ginger and chocolate, accompanied by a crispy sweet potato chip.
For dessert, the chefs have created a Catalan cream with Xixona turrón, which Xatruch and Castro personally finished by caramelising the thin sugar topping during their hospital kitchen visit. “For us, it’s a gift to be able to bring something of our cuisine to patients and healthcare staff,” explained Oriol Castro, whose wife works as a nurse. “We want to make them feel more cared for on Christmas Day.”
Eduard Xatruch expressed similar empathy, noting that most people have experienced having loved ones hospitalised during the holidays. “We know how much it’s appreciated when they can eat something that makes them feel it’s a special day,” he told the kitchen team. The chefs praised the hospital staff’s excellent work in replicating their recipes, which had been adapted with input from nutritionists Irene Flores and Sílvia Crespo.
This heartwarming initiative follows other notable developments in Barcelona’s healthcare sector, including Vall d’Hebron Hospital’s launch of a pioneering medical unit earlier this year. Meanwhile, the project continues a tradition that has previously featured chefs including Rafa Zafra, Susi Díaz, and last year’s contributor Albert Adrià.
According to the original report in La Vanguardia, the Disfrutar chefs are participating in several charitable Christmas initiatives alongside this hospital project. Additionally, they’re collaborating with the Sant Egidi community alongside other renowned Barcelona restaurants. Both Joan Castells, executive president of FIATC, and Antonio Llorens, president of Serunion, have thanked the chefs for their selfless work.
The Disfrutar chefs’ hospital menu demonstrates how fine dining expertise can translate into meaningful community support. Therefore, this Christmas, thousands of hospital patients and dedicated healthcare workers will experience Michelin-starred comfort during what can be a challenging time. Ultimately, the project highlights Barcelona’s culinary community’s ongoing commitment to social responsibility and festive solidarity.
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