St George Hospital hosts celebrity chef Adam Liaw

As part of Multicultural Health Week (MHW), we joined forces with celebrity chef, author and Multicultural Health Ambassador, Adam Liaw to promote healthy eating and celebrate cultural diversity in our healthcare system and our communities. 

A healthy lunchbox competition was held at St George Hospital on Tuesday, 10 September to promote this year’s theme: ‘Celebrate culture through food with multicultural family lunchboxes’.  

Staff entered their version of a healthy lunchbox to be judged by Adam, Chief Executive Tobi Wilson, Director of SESLHD's Equity and Prevention Service and NSW Multicultural Health Communication Service, Lisa Woodland, along with the expert guidance of Jade Kearsey, general outpatient dietitian at St George Hospital, who helps both adult and young clients to achieve their nutrition goals to manage their health. 

The prize winners were: 

• First place: Carol Yazbeck 

• Runner up: Emily Chaaban 

• Runner up: Erika Budiman 

• Highly commended: Effie Browne

Each winner received a Red Balloon voucher, with the first-place winner Carol also receiving a signed cookbook from Adam. 

“I’m delighted to be part of Multicultural Health Week this year. Coming from a migrant family, I understand the unique challenges and barriers that multicultural communities may experience in accessing food and practising healthy eating,” said Adam. 

“Whatever your background or culture, the way you eat at home can easily be your inspiration for healthy eating.”  

“The lunchbox is a great focal point for us to celebrate cultural diversity and show that simple budget-friendly dietary nutritional choices can make a big difference in the health of the whole family,” said Lisa Woodland. 

Chief Executive Tobi Wilson summed up the event: “Here in SESLHD, our mission statement is: ‘exceptional care, healthier lives’. We want to empower our communities and our workforce to lead healthier lives. Adam’s involvement has been a great reminder that healthy eating can indeed be delicious!” 

You can check out some of Adam’s healthy lunchbox suggestions here: Adam Liaw’s Multicultural Family Lunchboxes — MHCS (nsw.gov.au)