When people in the health and wellness industry talk about “food as medicine,” they are often referring to healthy choices at the table: eating fruits and vegetables to prevent diabetes, cutting out red dye to control ADHD, or limiting cholesterol to promote heart health. But for Chef Sam Diminich, preparing and serving healthy farm-to-table meals means even more.
Yes, he is one of Charlotte’s hottest chefs, thriving at his Restaurant Constance in Wesley Heights and his catering business, Your Farms Your Table. Yes, he’s appeared on Food Network twice and “Beat Bobby Flay” with his lobster risotto. And yes, he used to fuel former Carolina Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey as his personal chef.
But it’s in Diminich’s work serving meals to patients and staff at HopeWay, a nonprofit behavioral and mental health treatment facility in South Charlotte, that Diminich believes his most meaningful cooking is done.
“It’s essentially a restaurant where we serve our most important meals in,” Diminich says.
Three meals per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year, Diminich and his staff serve HopeWay patients, who suffer from anxiety to depression, bipolar disorder to schizophrenia, eating disorders to addiction. He does it with a knowing compassion. Diminich spent 30 years battling alcohol and drug addiction. He was in and out of rehabilitation centers.
He remembers being in places where it felt like food was an afterthought, something out of the freezer or a can. He remembers how different it felt to be served freshly-prepared meals.
“Being in treatment centers, you feel so isolated and so alone, like the walls are completely closing in,” Diminich says. “When I was at Hope Valley in Dobson, it would be time for supper, and it was the best food. It was all country cooking. I remember looking down and knowing that whoever made this cared, and I didn't feel alone. I didn't feel isolated. I didn't feel like the walls were closing in anymore. For that 30 or 45 minutes, I had reprieve from all the pain and suffering I was feeling.”
Dr. Alyson Kuroski-Mazzei, founding CEO and Chief Medical Officer of HopeWay, said while looking to improve their meal service, a HopeWay team member thought of Diminich. She knew of his restaurant and his appearance on Bobby Flay. She e-mailed him.
“It was a Hail Mary,” Dr. Kuroski-Mazzei says. “She didn’t even think he would respond, and he responded immediately and said he was interested. We met and shared our vision for what food as medicine would look like in our organization. It’s been a no-brainer ever since.”
HopeWay went from using a national food vendor to a third-generation chef from Myrtle Beach, who started washing dishes and bussing tables as a kid in his grandfather’s Italian restaurant called Roma.
“I knew if I poured my heart and soul into this food, I could make an impact on people,” Diminich says.
He does it with humility and understanding. He’s been through highs and lows. He went from winning a scholarship to the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York and working at some of the top restaurants in town to being homeless and living on the streets in West Charlotte, not far from the Restaurant Constance.
He knows what it feels like to be at a crossroads of what he calls “desperation and willingness” and how hard it can be to accept help.
“He and his staff know the clients by their first name,” Dr. Kuroski-Mazzei says. “They know who has dietary issues and allergies. And it’s a social time where people can let down their guards and enjoy being in a healthy space and eating together. And the food is so good that now the staff are eating here. They’re in the dining hall with our clients.”
For clients at HopeWay, treatment is voluntary, and Dr. Kuroski-Mazzei said one told her the only reason he stayed when he first arrived last winter was the food.
“Being in treatment is hard,” she says. “He told me the only reason he stayed that weekend when we started was because of the food. Then he actually stayed the entire time and got well.”
Diminich prepares nearly 100 meals per day for those in all levels of care. And in October he will begin making specialized meals for patients with eating disorders.
“He has empathy,” Dr. Kuroski-Mazzei says. “He understands the needs of the patients. He doesn’t get upset when there are 18 different dietary requests. He understands these folks are sick, and they need anything we can do to help them in their recovery process. Healthy nutrition is a huge pillar of what we do here.”
Dr. Kuroski-Mazzei is leading a panel discussion at HopeWay’s annual educational event on Oct. 16. This year’s theme is “Food as Medicine.” The panel will include former President of the American Psychiatric Association Dr. Ramaswamy Viswanathan, Registered Dietitian Ellen Jones and Diminich, or “Chef Sam,” as he’s affectionately known around HopeWay.
“Having this compassion behind Chef Sam’s cooking really does help build trust as we’re building the therapeutic process with our patients,” Dr. Kuroski-Mazzei says.