Troy Waugh joined VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital (CMH) as the new Executive Chef in March 2021. Before then, he worked for Meredith College, where he managed their kitchen, catering, dining and retail services. “Chef Troy,” as he is known around CMH, is a graduate of the Academy of Culinary Arts in Mays Landing, New Jersey, and has more than 20 years of experience in overseeing and managing culinary operations.

Waugh first starting cooking at the age of 10 by watching his mother and being encouraged by his older, demanding brother. 

“I was a latch key kid,” Waugh explained. “My brother and I would get home from school three hours before our parents. My brother was the one that was always hungry. He would turn hungry into hangry with his tantrums. To console him, I started off with the easy stuff: Pancakes, French toast, waffles, and other breakfast staples.” 

Don’t let his northern roots fool you; his mother’s side of the family is from Virgilina, Virginia, where he now resides. Having spent 19 years in uptown New Orleans, The Louisiana Restaurant Association gave him several awards for his gumbo: Best Traditional Gumbo, Best Exotic Gumbo, the People’s Choice Award and the Jamie Shannon Award. 

Chef Troy stands in front of the serving line at VCU Health CMH’s Cafeteria. 

Waugh jokes his favorite food to cook for his son is “Oodles of Noodles,” but seriously, he goes through stages. While he excels at home cooking and making old staples shine, Waugh is currently experimenting with East Indian cuisine.  He also likes to dabble in French-German-Asian fusion. 

“Most recently, I’ve enjoyed being creative with different dry and wet rubs for barbequing pork,” he said. 

Waugh also likes to combine ingredients to give a healthy flavor to food. He’ll stack onions, peppers and celery to add flavor to broths and sauces. He also uses varying types of vinegar and infused oils to develop deeper flavors. 

“You can make a rice cake taste good by adding salsa,” he said.

Waugh brings variety and more healthy choices to CMH’s cafeteria. There are now more fresh options on the menu, such as leafy vegetables and healthy whole grains to balance out the popular fried meals. For example, a grain bowl is now a frequent meal option with a variety of different vegetables, like carrot greens or rainbow Swiss chard. Waugh hopes people will be willing to branch out and try new things when they stop by CMH’s cafeteria. 

Community members have been known to frequent the cafeteria before the pandemic due to the great value. Now that hospital visitation has opened back up, the public is welcome to stop in for a quick meal or grab take-out if seating is limited.

CMH is located at 1755 N. Mecklenburg Avenue in South Hill. The cafeteria is accessible from the main entrance and is straight back on the main floor. Current hours of operation:

Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Grab and Go: 10:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Lunch: 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Grab and Go: 2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Dinner: 4:30 p.m.- 7:00 p.m.

Sign Up for VCU Health Community Memorial Hospital’s E-Newsletter