Zest: The Health meets Food Newsletter
November 2023
Zest. It says a lot about what the folks who are involved with Culinary Medicine are about. People connected with the Culinary Medicine movement have just that: a zest for life, learning, and teaching.
Zest evokes the excitement and passion that is happening at the intersection of where health meets food.
CMSB Advisory Board Spotlight
Beth Dollinger, MD, CCMS
Dr. Dollinger is one of pioneers in the Culinary Medicine field and will join the Culinary Medicine Specialist Board Advisory Board in January. She is a board certified orthopedic surgeon with a strong interest in nutrition as well as teaching. She graduated from the University of Vermont College of Medicine and did a residency in orthopedic surgery at University Hospitals of Cleveland Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and then did a fellowship in Foot and Ankle surgery.
She recently retired from her role as an instructor for The Lake Erie College of Medicine, teaching both medical students and residents. She led the Culinary Medicine programming at the Arnot Ogden Medical Center, a community hospital in rural upstate New York. Since the inception of the program she taught hundreds of medical students, family practice residents, and ran many community modules.
She now is an instructor at Albany Medical College where she helps lead the Culinary Medicine programming.
What is your favorite ingredient?
Mushrooms, any kind. I love experimenting with them. They add amazing flavor to any dish. My favorite is mock chopped liver. They can be used on their own, in a dish or as a replacement.
What is your least favorite ingredient?
Chili peppers. I can never get the balance right.
What turns you on creatively?
Preparing for a big family get together. I love trying new recipes. My family never knows what to expect. I spend weeks finding just the right combination of recipes and flavors to surprise everyone. The only problem with this approach is that if they really like something they will never have it again.
What turns you off?
A recipe with 20 ingredients.
What is your favorite recipe or meal?
My favorite recipe is roasted sea bass with miso glaze over wilted spinach and any meal surrounded by family is the best.
What culinary flavor or aroma do you love?
The aroma of bread at any stage in the process of making it. I enjoy the smell of yeast, dough in the process of rising and the way my home smells when I have been baking bread.
What culinary flavor or aroma do you hate?
Roasting Turkey. As a vegetarian I really do not like the smell of roasting meat.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
An architect. I would love to be able to design beautiful, functional spaces and communities for people to live in. I would either design buildings or green spaces within communities. Incorporating ecological and environmentally sustainable spaces.
What profession would you not like to do?
President of the United States. No matter what you do it’s not right.
Julia Child invites you to a pot luck dinner with James Beard and Aguste Escoffier. What dish would you take?
The Challah I make for Friday night. It’s one that has evolved through the years and has some very interesting ingredients in it, including ginger, saffron and wheat germ.
Health meets Food Clothing and Swag
We are excited to announce the availability of Health meets Food clothing and swag.
Time to purchase some great Health meets Food clothing and swag. Great as a gift for yourself, family, friends and (even better) your Culinary Medicine colleagues.
Choose from baseball caps, t-shirts, polo shirts, embroidered aprons, mugs and water bottles.
Congratulations to New Certified Culinary Medicine Specialists!
Congratulations to over 30 new Certified Culinary Medicine Specialists who recently sat for and passed the certification exam.
The CCMS designation identifies clinicians who have a unique foundation for incorporating healthy eating into patients’ diets: comprehensive knowledge of nutrition and the culinary techniques to prepare food that is consistent with real-world budgets, time constraints, and nutritional ideals. Physicians, Physicians Assistants, Pharmacists, Registered Dietitians and Nurse Practitioners are eligible for certification.
The hybrid 60-credit curriculum includes a distinctive combination of online nutrition education courses, live conferences, and in-person attendance at hands-on teaching kitchen modules.
| Mia Antinone, MD | Katherine Hageboeck, MD | Jana Williams, MD |
| Pamela Brandt, DO | Elizabeth Kelsey, NP | Angela Campbell, MD |
| David Cadena, MD | Linda Lis Smith, MD | Ugochi Cantave, MD |
| Allison Collins, MD | Angela Lord, RDN | Linda Garrow, MS |
| Anthony Douglas, MD | Kathryn Miner, MD | Nina Gray, MD |
| Lara Friel, MD | Kavita Patel, MD | Humaira Lateef, MD |
| Jessica Gilliam, MD | Aimee Shea, RDN, LD | Michelle Milgrim, RD,CDN |
| Max Goldstein, RDN | Alison Smith Gibeau, MD | Kanna Nallamothu, MD |
| Kavitha Golipelly, MD | Lynsey Soule, MD | Samar Rashid, DO |
| Jyothirmayi Gundavarapu, MD | Victoriano Valdez, PA | Amy Robinson, MD |
| Caissa Troutman, MD |
Congratulations to New Tier III Foodservice Specialists!
Congratulations to the 14 new Tier III Foodservice Specialists who have completed the Health meets Food Foodservice Tier III Program at Frederick Community College. Kudos also to the team at Frederick Community College including Chef Elizabeth DeRose and Mark Mills for leading the way in the culinary industry!
The Tier III designation identifies chefs and foodservice professionals who have a unique foundation for incorporating healthy eating into their menus for patients and patrons. This demonstrates a foundational knowledge of nutrition and the culinary techniques to prepare food that is consistent with real-world budgets, time constraints, and nutritional ideals. Chefs, foodservice professionals, those with ACF designation, culinary school graduates, certified dietetic managers and USDA extension agents are eligible for certification.
The hybrid curriculum includes a distinctive combination of online nutrition education courses, live conferences, and in-person attendance at hands-on teaching kitchen modules.
| Tammy Click | Adam Miller |
| Jeanne Davenport | Mark Mills |
| Patrick Dellinger | Dave Rolls |
| Gerri Dyer | Oluwatimilehin Smith-Kayode |
| David Evans | Onella St.Hilaire |
| Silvia Gomez Maravilla | Armando Tellez Cruz |
| Colleen Krantz | Tammy Twigg |
Health meets Food Curriculum Committee
The Curriculum Committee will be restarting its monthly meetings for the 2024 academic year.
The committee is headed by Dr. Kathryn Balaram and meets each month over Zoom to collaborate, recommend and approve revisions to the culinary medicine curriculum. This process helps ensure that the modules stay up to date with the most recent evidence-based literature and recommendations.
If you enjoy providing feedback, staying up to date with current recommendations and learning from colleagues in an interdisciplinary setting consider joining the committee! It is open to students, culinary medicine instructors, and CCMS graduates. Participants of the curriculum committee may also be eligible for CCMS recertification credits. If you are interested in joining the curriculum committee please email Chef Dr. Balaram at kbalaram@culinarymedicine.org.
GWU Culinary Medicine Interest Group Journal Club
The medical students at GWU will lead another of their recurring Journal Club meetings in December.
Date: December 14, 2023 | Time: 6:00 PM EDT | Location: Virtual via Zoom (link TBA)
Emeka Ikeakanam and Jordan Howard from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) will be presenting.
In the coming months the GWU Culinary Medicine Interest Group will be leading more journal club meetings. If you have a paper you would like reviewed, or if you would like to present, email Jeffrey Wang at jywang@gwmail.gwu.edu
Watch Recordings of Previous Journal Club Meetings
Save the Date for the Culinary Medicine Specialist Board Roundtable
Our next Roundtable discussion will be held at 6:00 PM Eastern time on February 12, 2024.
The topic will be Culinary Medicine: Past, Present and Future. Speakers from across the country who are active in the Culinary Medicine movement will speak about the origins of programming, the current state of the art, and a glimpse of what the future holds.
One of our featured panelists will be Milette Siler. She has been involved with Culinary Medicine since 2014, when a collaboration between Moncrief Cancer Institute teaching kitchen, UT Southwestern, and Texas Christian University first brought the program to North Texas.
Her career is focused upon advancing Culinary Medicine in both a professional, student, and community setting. In the professional student arena, Milette serves as lead dietetic instructor for UT Southwestern’s medical school, bringing enhanced nutrition education to medical students, residents, and other health professionals. In the community setting, Milette teaches hands-on cooking classes for cancer survivor patients served at Moncrief Cancer Institute. Additionally, she networks with local food pantries and other organizations to bring Culinary Medicine to underserved populations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The program will last two hours via Zoom and will be similar in format to our last event, which can be accessed here: Culinary Medicine Specialist Board Foodservice Roundtable.
Featured Speaker: Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference
Alicia Tucker, MD, FAAP
George Washington University
Alicia Tucker, M.D., FAAP, ABOM is a pediatrician at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. She works clinically in child and adolescent obesity medicine with the Children’s National IDEAL Clinic, a multidisciplinary tertiary care weight management program. Over the past decade Dr. Tucker has worked with students, residents, and faculty to support education around pediatric obesity and diet related chronic disease. Her advocacy work centers around how social determinants of health impact access to quality nutrition and how building clinical-community collaboratives can improve health outcomes.
The 10th Annual Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference
The conference will take place June 6 through June 9, 2024.
This year we will be in Washington, DC and held in collaboration with Prince George’s Community College Department of Wellness, Culinary Arts and Hospitality at their amazing facility.
We will look at a reboot of fundamental knowledge on Friday, review the state of the art on Saturday, and on Sunday look at the cutting edge and future of food and nutrition.
THURSDAY
Optional hands-on Health meets Food modules with additional fee.
FRIDAY: REBOOT OF FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Friday programming will focus on the foundational elements of how patients and patrons think about diet and healthy food. We will explore the adaptability of Mediterranean diet and the research behind heritage diets around the world along with the current evidence around popular diets such as intermittent fasting, ketogenic diet and the carbon footprint of our foodways.
SATURDAY: CHALLENGES IN CULINARY MEDICINE
During this year’s culinary skills building sessions we will explore the challenges our vulnerable patients face with cooking great healthy food using a variety of pre-selected ingredients. Teams will create and share recipes with other conference participants in the afternoon sessions.
SUNDAY: LOOKING TO THE HORIZON – FOOD FOR THOUGHT
What does the future hold for our patients and patrons?
View the Agenda Speaker List Register Now!
Hotel Information
Last Day to Book: Sunday, May 5, 2024
Health meets Food special group rate: $169.00 USD to $269.00 USD per room per night
Residence Inn Largo Medical Center Drive
1330 Caraway Court
Largo, Maryland, 20774
301-925-7806
Book your Hotel Room for Health mets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference
2024 Poster Session
We will hold a poster session at the 2024 Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference. The deadline for submission will be in mid-March, 2024. Our Chair for the poster review will be Dr. Karen Lindsay.
The Health meets Food Research team is now accepting applications for Faculty, Resident and/or Student Posters.
This is the opportunity to showcase how your site has utilized Culinary Medicine in teaching and patient intervention and for others to learn of the outcomes in your location. Show attendees the many ways in which culinary medicine has been taught, appreciated and used in your patient and student population. Student submissions are highly encouraged.
Poster submissions will be peer-reviewed for academic content and interest by the HMF Research Committee. In addition to publication of your poster and abstract on the website and ability to present the work at the conference, we will evaluate all contributions for the best 2024 contribution. Our judging methods will include evaluation of relevance of the study question, choice of methodology, soundness of results and conclusions, replicability, effectiveness of poster display and importance of the contribution of work accomplished with regard to advancing the field of culinary medicine in education. The winner of this evaluation process will receive free admission to the 2025 annual HMF conference.
Please copy form, complete and submit in Word format. Include a 150 word summary of this activity which will be posted on the Health meets Food website (if accepted) with your actual poster.
Download the Poster Submission Form (PDF).
Email your completed application to kllindsa@hs.uci.edu
Culinary Medicine Research and News
New Primary Care Model Created to Dispense Diet and Nutrition Advice
Culinary medicine eConsults developed at UT Southwestern are feasible, scalable, and well received
Expert advice on nutrition delivered to patients electronically saved physicians time, improved patient satisfaction, and was reimbursable by insurance, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report. The findings, published in Nutrients, showcase a new model developed at UT Southwestern to feed the growing interest among patients in learning how food can affect their health.
What’s cooking? “TheChefDoc” Colin Zhu, DO, serves up lifestyle and culinary medicine
Let’s take a seat at the table as Colin Zhu, DO, aka TheChefDoc, prepares a five-course chronicle that spans his journey into osteopathic, lifestyle and culinary medicine. Dr. Zhu is a graduate of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) and he completed his residency at Manchester Memorial Hospital in family medicine.
How culinary knowledge can impact physical, mental and environmental health
“It’s really important when you talk about nutrition that you do it in a wise manner. You don’t trigger some [eating disorder], we’re facing a crisis with disordered eating orthorexia, anorexia, bulimia, you know, binge eating disorder, arfid, you know, EOB, I see all kinds of feeding type situations. So it’s important that we approach it in a very wise manner. And so things like adding, rather than restricting.”
Empowering Proactive Nutrition Choices: Dive into the Expertise of Dr. Kavita Patel and CulVita Consulting
“I offer clients lifelong tools to empower individuals and families on how to choose healthful foods and ingredients. The corporatization of traditional medical practice has devalued the emphasis on prevention. CulVita Consulting is a platform upon which I can shift focus from reactive (treating illness) to proactive (disease prevention).”
Yale New Haven Health Teaching Kitchen Spotlight
What they do: The Irving and Alice Brown Teaching Kitchen at Yale New Haven Health (YNHH)‘s Digestive Health Centermerges culinary expertise provided by professional chefs with nutritional advice from dietitians to make food a part of health care. The kitchen, which opened in August 2023, provides free culinary medicine classes for Yale New Haven Health patients. Participants work with a chef and registered dietitian to learn how to make healthy meals that support medical conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease.
Interview With Dr. Timothy Harlan, Culinary Medicine, Innovator
Our Dean at the time, Dr. Benjamin Sachs, pulled together a group of faculty, students, chefs, business leaders and community members with the idea of building the first fully operational teaching kitchen at a medical school to teach medical students how to cook. The breakthrough came when the group landed on the idea of building the kitchen in the community and also teaching our patients and community members how to cook and eat healthy.
Upcoming In-Person Culinary Medicine Classes
The Health meets Food team offers Culinary Medicine continuing medical education classes for medical professionals in Washington, DC as well as with partners across the United States, with locations varying by date.
Each class costs $200.00 and CE credits are available for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Registered Dietitians, Pharmacists, Nurse Practitioners, Nurses, and Certified Diabetes Educators.
This in-person programming will be held at: Corewell Health Lifestyle Medicine Teaching Kitchen Downtown Market 435 Ionia Ave SW Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Delving into obesity indicators, the understanding of caloric density and portion control, and reviews of the literature behind weight loss and maintenance, this course will help the clinician understand practical and realistic approaches to weight management.
For more information, please email LifestyleMedicine@SpectrumHealth.org or call (616) 486.0385
This in-person programming will be held at: Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University 300 N Broad St Suite 102 New Orleans, LA 70119
Introduction to Culinary Medicine: We present an outline of both the Mediterranean and DASH diets and examine recent sources and studies examining the effectiveness of both in terms of treating diet-related illnesses. We also review methods of communicating these principles to patients along with an introduction to basic kitchen safety and knife handling skills. For more information, please email hnace@tulane.edu, 504-988-9108
This in-person programming will be held at: Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University 300 N Broad St Suite 102 New Orleans, LA 70119
Systemic Approaches to Obesity: This module describes obesity as a multifactorial disease process and reviews the complications of obesity. This module also helps learners understand a multifaceted approach to the management of obesity. Topics range from dietary counseling, meal replacement, and pharmaceutical approaches to cognitive behavioral therapy. For more information, please email hnace@tulane.edu, 504-988-9108
This in-person programming will be held at: Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University 300 N Broad St Suite 102 New Orleans, LA 70119
Anti-Inflammatory Diet: In this module attendees will learn about the relationship between foods, advanced glycation end products, and free radicals. We will review the evidence about the role of diet in heart disease, stroke, COPD, cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and kidney failure, as well as the inflammatory pathways and where food fits in it. We will also present the evidence showing a relationship between advanced glycation end products, free radicals, and degenerative disorders.
For more information, please email hnace@tulane.edu, 504-988-9108
Thursday June 6, 2024 at 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT – Module 1 – Introduction to Culinary Medicine
There will be no virtual option for this date. This in-person programming will be held as part of Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference at the Prince George’s Community College
There will be no virtual option for this date. This in-person programming will be held as part of Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference at Prince George’s Community College
There will be no virtual option for this date. This in-person programming will be held as part of Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference at the Prince George’s Community College.
Upcoming Virtual Culinary Medicine Classes
The Health meets Food team has been offering virtual online hands-on Culinary Medicine programming for over 3 years. Participants use Zoom to gather, collaborate, cook together, and discuss case studies. Each module will follow the workflow of in-person programming and will take about 3 1/2 hours to complete.
For registration problems, questions, or for more event information, please contact Cecilia Hatfield at cecilia@culinarymedicine.org.
Saturday August 10, 2024 at 12:00 PM to 3:30 PM EDT – Module 3 – Fats – Virtual Programming via Zoom
Donate to the Culinary Medicine Specialist Board
Your donation to the Culinary Medicine Specialist Board goes to support the work of the organization, including creation and revision of extensive programming for culinary schools, medical schools, residency programs, nursing schools, and dietetic programs, as well as continuing medical education and certification programs and the yearly Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference.
The CMSB is a 501c3 non-profit and your donation is fully tax deductible.
Free Food Security Continuing Medical Education Online
The Health meets Food team offers free continuing medical education programming focused on food security issues:
1. Food Security in Older Adults
2. SNAP and WIC
3. Food Banks and Medically Tailored Meals
This is a significant issue for many in our society and the courseware covers background as well as actionable information for healthcare professionals. All three of these modules are also available for use by partner-sites using the Health meets Food courseware for healthcare professional students.
The Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist (CCMS) Program
The Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist (CCMS) designation identifies clinicians who have a unique foundation for incorporating healthy eating into patients’ diets: comprehensive knowledge of nutrition and the culinary techniques to prepare food that is consistent with real-world budgets, time constraints, and nutritional ideals. Physicians, Physicians Assistants, Pharmacists, Registered Dietitians and Nurse Practitioners are eligible for certification.
The hybrid 60-credit curriculum includes a distinctive combination of online nutrition education courses, live conferences, and in-person attendance at hands-on teaching kitchen modules.By completing the program, clinicians will enhance their confidence and quality of care by learning how to:
- Integrate nutritional counseling to supplement pharmacological treatment
- Educate patients about weight loss and weight management
- Develop practical examination-room dialogues that inspire behavioral change
- Implement new strategies in even the busiest primary care offices
Apply for the CCMS Program Now!
Culinary Medicine Programming for Chefs and Foodservice Professionals
The Advisory Board and the Health meets Food team is excited to announce pioneering Culinary Medicine programming for chefs and foodservice professionals. The programming launches today as a 20 module series and the courseware will be available for culinary schools as well as a certification program.
Chefs and foodservice professionals are perfectly positioned to play a central role in changing the way Americans eat. However, many chefs and foodservice professionals feel their nutrition education and ability to communicate practical, effective guidance to consumers as well as their skill to produce food that is healthy and delicious is lacking.
The Certified Culinary Medicine Professional (CCMP) program provides foodservice professional at any level with a unique combination of nutritional knowledge and improved healthy culinary skills so that they can effectively incorporate healthy options into menus to help consumers.
Through certification, foodservice professionals will enhance their knowledge, confidence, and skills by learning how to:
- Evaluate and apply the most rigorous current research to menu and recipe development.
- Enhance the quality of meals prepared.
- Improve the diet quality especially targeting diet-related chronic diseases
Featuring a hybrid 45-credit curriculum comprised of online education, live conference learning, and hands-on teaching kitchen modules, the CCMP program is designed for those passionate about integrating science-based nutrition research into their culinary skillset and will equip candidates with the nutritional knowledge and culinary skills to optimize health.
View the program’s hybrid curriculum and steps towards certification.
