Renowned Cleveland-Based Chef and Restaurateur Douglas Katz Joins Morrison Healthcare at Cleveland Clinic to Further Elevate Culinary Experience for Patients and Guests
Chef Katz brings his unwavering support of local sourcing & food artisanship to hospital dining experience
Morrison Healthcare welcomes well-known culinary leader Chef Douglas Katz as the newest member of the culinary leadership team at Cleveland Clinic. In this new role, Chef Katz serves as a chef partner, and brings 25 years of expertise curating and delivering delicious experiences to the Morrison team, to further elevate innovation and creativity offered to patients, guests and caregivers.
“My purpose is to spread joy through meaningful experiences and a shared passion for food,” said Chef Katz. “It is an honor to join the Morrison Healthcare team at Cleveland Clinic and bring these experiences to patients, caregivers and guests. I’m looking forward to exploring creative ways to continue to move the hospital dining experience forward and keep the impressive momentum the culinary team at Cleveland Clinic has already made in creating the future of hospital food.”
Chef Katz will work closely with the Morrison team, serving the Cleveland Clinic enterprise culinary team, to develop and enhance patient, café dining, and catering menus, especially for seasonal and specialty offerings. He will provide culinary learning experiences for the Morrison chefs and cooks to elevate their skills. Chef Katz also looks forward to serving the northeast Ohio community through Teaching Kitchens and other culinary educational opportunities.
“Our culinary expertise is how we make an impact for patients and caregivers,” said Avi Pinto, central division president for Morrison Healthcare. “Our mission is to always bring vision, high quality food, flavor and top-notch presentation to all of our dishes, no matter who is eating and enjoying it. We are thrilled to welcome Chef Katz to the team and are excited for the culinary innovation he will bring to the hospital. Chef Katz shares our vision that food plays a critical role in the healing process, providing strength for patients to recuperate and sustenance to caregivers who are providing life-saving care.”
Chef Katz is a Cleveland native who has built his culinary career working in and running restaurants as well as traveling the world to explore his love of food, especially Mediterranean, Indian, and South American cuisines. He is chef/owner of two area restaurants, Zhug, Amba and has plans for a third, Chimi. He is also chef/partner of Provenance at The Cleveland Museum of Art, as well as former chef/owner of fire food and drink, which operated in Cleveland’s Shaker Square for more than 20 years.
“We are pleased to have Chef Katz join our culinary leadership team and bring his expertise to our retail concepts and menu development for our patients, visitors and caregivers,” said Laura Johns, senior director of patient support services at Cleveland Clinic. “We are proud to bring even more vision to our culinary offerings, emphasizing sustainable practices and creative and delicious dishes.”
Chef Katz is passionate about supporting local farmers and food artisans, and he regularly advocates nationally and internationally for sustainable, healthful and local food systems. He is an advisor for SoCo Tahini and Smart Soda. He also serves as a chef ambassador for the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, which promotes environmentally responsible fishing and fish farming. He currently serves as a mentor for Global Cleveland and College Now Greater Cleveland, and is a current board member of The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes.
A true life-long Clevelander, Chef Katz has also served on the board of Countryside Food & Farms in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and held leadership positions with Destination Cleveland and Cleveland Independents, an organization of 90 locally owned restaurants that nurtures and promotes local independent restaurants.
Chef Katz earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Denver School of Hotel and Restaurant Management before graduating from the Culinary Institute of America. Prior to opening fire food and drink, he served as the original executive chef of Moxie the restaurant (Cleveland, OH) and worked at acclaimed restaurants, including The Little Nell (Aspen, CO) and Wildwood Restaurant (Portland, OR).