Phoenix3 Collective today announced the launch of Culinour, a healthcare dining management company designed to address a growing gap between how culinary services are integrated into clinical settings and what today's patients, caregivers, and healthcare leaders expect. Griffin Health, a Planetree patient-centered care organization, announced as inaugural client
WALTHAM, Mass., May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Phoenix3 Collective today announced the launch of Culinour, a healthcare dining management company designed to address a growing gap between how culinary services are integrated into clinical settings and what today's patients, caregivers, and healthcare leaders expect. By bringing together real-time technology, culinary expertise, and closer coordination between clinical and dining teams, Culinour is designed to strengthen the role of food as a meaningful component of care delivery.
The launch comes at a pivotal moment for the industry. Recent updates to Hospital Nutrition and Food Service expectations from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reinforce what many healthcare leaders already recognize: nutrition services are no longer a support function, but a critical component of care delivery requiring a more advanced level of culinary expertise and operational alignment. Despite this shift, most outsourced dining models remain rooted in legacy approaches built for standardization and scale, according to Phoenix3 executives.
"Healthcare dining is one of the last major operational areas that hasn't fully evolved to reflect what we now know about food, health, and human experience," said Richard B. Schenkel, CEO & Founder of Phoenix3 Collective. "We founded Culinour to close that gap. By integrating culinary excellence, technology-driven insight, and an ownership culture, we're giving healthcare organizations a fundamentally different way to recognize food as a meaningful contributor to health."
A New Model for Healthcare Dining
Culinour's model is grounded in a more collaborative approach to healthcare dining, where culinary and clinical teams operate in coordination rather than in parallel. The company's proprietary TrueVue™ technology platform integrates disparate data streams to provide real-time visibility spanning patient needs and preferences, nutrition, food and labor costs, and operations to give healthcare leaders a clear line of sight into performance. The result is a more responsive dining program that supports clinical requirements while expediting day-to-day decisions.
This approach reflects a growing body of evidence highlighting the link between food, patient experience, and overall care outcomes. Research from organizations such as Press Ganey continues to show that food quality and dining experience are among the most influential drivers of patient satisfaction.
Griffin Health Named as Founding Client
Culinour's debut includes the announcement of Griffin Health as its first client partner. Griffin is a nationally recognized leader in person-centered care through its work with Planetree, a healthcare consultancy and accreditation organization advancing dignity, partnership, and healing in healthcare. Griffin Health selected Culinour based on a shared belief that food is an essential element of patient care.
"For healthcare organizations pursuing person-centered care, healing is shaped as much by how people feel and experience care as by the treatments they receive," said Patrick A. Charmel, President and CEO, Griffin Health Services Corporation. "Food can provide comfort, ease anxiety, and reinforce a sense of dignity and being cared for, or it can create stress and aversion. When thoughtfully approached, food supports health promotion, disease prevention, and lifestyle education while enhancing the emotional and supportive nature of care."
"Culinour understands that food in healthcare carries meaning well beyond nutrition," Charmel added. "They share our belief that meals should support healing, dignity, and human connection, aligning closely with how we think about care at Griffin and through our work with Planetree."
Expertise Designed for What's Next
Culinour is part of Phoenix3 Collective, a portfolio of hospitality and dining companies focused on transforming foodservice across healthcare, senior living, and corporate environments. With a leadership team experienced in scaling and redefining dining models across multiple sectors, Culinour enters the market with both a clear point of view and a practical framework for execution.
Schenkel has appointed Tim Bouchard as Chief Executive Officer of Culinour. Bouchard brings nearly three decades of experience across healthcare dining, including on-site operations, executive leadership, and a clinical foundation as a Registered Dietitian.
"Expectations have changed across every stakeholder in healthcare," said Schenkel. "We see a lot of opportunity in the market to fundamentally rethink how food supports the care experience."
About Phoenix3 Collective
Phoenix3 Collective is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based portfolio of culinary, hospitality, and services companies focused on transforming dining across healthcare, senior living, and corporate environments. The Collective brings together operating companies and consulting services spanning quality assurance, procurement, compliance, training, and operations. Its integrated approach combines culinary expertise, technology, and an ownership-driven culture to deliver elevated dining experiences and measurable performance.
For more information, visit www.phx3.com.
About Griffin Health
Griffin Health is a Derby, Connecticut–based, not-for-profit healthcare system and a national leader in patient-centered care. As a long-standing affiliate of the Planetree model, Griffin Health is recognized for integrating clinical care with a holistic approach that emphasizes dignity, personalization, and the human experience. Its flagship, Griffin Hospital, serves the greater New Haven community with a full range of inpatient and outpatient services.
For more information, visit www.griffinhealth.org.
Media Contact
Karen O'Neil, Phoenix3 Collective, 1 833-573-7828, [email protected], www.phx3.com
SOURCE Phoenix3 Collective
Share this article