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Photo by Reed Hutchinson UCLA
Photographic Services
Carlton Green was a Marine mess hall cook for 14 years.
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cookin' on all burners
Turnaround chief restores morale, profits
BY WENDY SODERBURG
UCLA Today Staff
Carlton Green, director of nutrition at the UCLA Medical Center,
is being pressured to finish his book.
The pressure is not coming from an agent or a publisher, however;
it’s coming from eager friends and colleagues who are anxious
to discover the principles Green followed when turning the medical
center’s food service department — once $2.5 million
over budget and suffering from low staff morale — into a profitable
operation.
For a department that produces 3.2 million meals a year for patients
and cafeteria patrons at UCLA Medical Center and Santa Monica-UCLA
Medical Center, this was no easy feat. Recruited by UCLA in 1997,
Green’s challenge was to turn things around within a year
or the department would be contracted out.
When he arrived at UCLA, Green immediately set out to reduce costs.
He increased sales by introducing several new elements to the cafeteria
menu, including an International Corner and an on-site sushi chef.
But it was what Green did with his staff that produced the most
important results. He released two managers who did not, he said,
focus on the department’s core values — respect and
trust among them. He held classes once a week for his managers and
supervisors to teach them everything he knew about the business.
By the end of the year, Green and his staff had increased cash
revenues by $100,000 per month, increased patient satisfaction by
80% and raised staff morale to an all-time high. In 2001, Green
received the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association’s
Silver Plate Award for superior dedication, creativity and achievement.
“The way I have chosen to live my life is to leave every
person I meet with more than what I take from them,” Green
said. “Translated into business, our mission here is to exceed
the expectations of our patients and our customers.”
Green’s mission began early in life. Little did he realize
that by helping his mother, a single parent, with the family meals,
he was inadvertently launching a career in food service. At Chadsey
High in Detroit, Green enrolled in a chef course for boys but left
school early to join the Marine Corps. At 17, he married his high
school sweetheart, Judy, with whom he went on to have six children.
During a monsoon in Okinawa in 1956, Green was pulled off a muddy
field by a Marine captain to help run the mess. He ended up cooking
for seven generals. Near the end of his tour, he took a second job
as a cook at Disneyland and was encouraged by Walt Disney himself
to work toward his high school diploma. He continued his education
and received a B.A. in nutrition in 1977, a master’s in restaurant
and hotel administration in 1980 and a Ph.D. in business administration
in 1999.
But back to that book, which is probably the only thing Green
has not yet finished. “People keep saying, ‘When are
you going to finish it? We want a copy!’ ” he said,
laughing. “But I’ve got a job. I’ve got to earn
a living!”
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