SODA SPRINGS — Greg Fullmer spent his younger years in Soda Springs exploring recipe creations alongside his mother and sister.

They stayed away from the concept of quick-cook microwave meals, which led to Fullmer always dabbling with new recipes and learning from the women in the house.

Nowadays Fullmer uses that knowledge as well as what he’s learned at places like Utah State University to cook what many locals believe is the best hospital food in Idaho.

While the doctors and nurses use modern medicine to heal patients at Caribou Medical Center, Fullmer does his part in the hospital’s kitchen, where meals are made to help with healing and change one’s preconceived notions of what hospital food is supposed to taste like.

Fullmer feels like he’s an integral part of the team at the hospital in his hometown, where he realized the kitchen was where he needed to be.

By the time he graduated from Soda Springs High School, he knew he had a passion for food and took a job as a supervisor assisting a company that handled concessions for athletic events.

After Fullmer had spent a year on the job, his manager left and the company offered to promote Fullmer and help with his college expenses if he would change his major to food service management.

Fullmer agreed and his pursuit of a college degree resulted in him taking a number of culinary art classes that really pushed him to love and appreciate the art and science behind cooking. Words of encouragement from a professor that Fullmer would make an incredible chef with his keen sense of smell and discerning palate further motivated him to embark on a career in the kitchen.

Fullmer went on to receive his bachelor’s degree from Utah State University in food science/nutrition with an emphasis in culinary arts and food service management. But his education didn’t end there. Fullmer has spent his adulthood seeking out a wide variety of culinary and nutrition accreditations from a variety of organizations because he never wants to stop learning.

Though the bulk of his career has been with college campus food services and catering, he made the jump to Caribou Medical Center’s dietary food manager position to take on the task of changing the face of hospital food.

Everyone knows the reputation of hospital food is nothing to rave about, but that’s not the case at Caribou Medical Center.

And all the credit is going to the new cook in the kitchen.

Fullmer said, “I was excited for the task. I feel my background and career put me in a position to meet the unique challenges facing most hospital kitchens. We are able to meet the nutrition requirements for patients while making the food taste good at the same time.”

Fullmer’s mission when hired was to take Caribou Medical Center’s food to another culinary level and everyone would agree he’s more than accomplished the job.

After joining the Caribou Medical Center team in 2019, Fullmer quickly developed a room service style menu that allowed the hospital’s patients to have quality choices.

It’s all part of his personal motto, “Food should never be a barrier to healing.”

Being a patient at a hospital or having a loved one who is admitted for treatment can be stressful. Fullmer’s cuisine is not only healthy, but it makes the hospital experience memorable in a very good way.

Local resident Susan Clements recently got a chance to try Fullmer’s hospital food after her mother was admitted to Caribou Medical Center,

Clements said, “We have enjoyed the food immensely. Every time they bring my mother’s meal, she says, ‘Oh my goodness this is so delicious.’”

Food choices while being treated at a hospital are critical for healing as a well-balanced diet supports tissue repair and strengthens immunity to fight infections aiding in a faster recovery.

Fullmer has been able to apply his scientific knowledge of nutrition to provide such health benefits at Caribou Medical Center without sacrificing taste.

He’s as integral a part of the team at Caribou Medical Center as the doctors and nurses.

“I wouldn’t be able to do what I do at a larger hospital. It just wouldn’t work,” Fullmer said. “When someone orders a Salsbury steak, we literally make it from scratch right then. That wouldn’t be possible with a larger footprint. Individual care runs deep throughout our hospital. I am very proud to be a part of what we are doing and take great pride in being a part of this team.”