About
Program Overview
The Culinary Medicine program at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) in Memphis operates at the intersection of medical education and community health, reaching medical students, residents, and families across a growing network of clinical and campus partnerships. Led by Dr. Rana Assfoura, the program draws on the ACCM Health meets Food curriculum to build both nutrition knowledge and practical cooking skills — equipping future physicians to bridge the gap between evidence and everyday patient care.
Programming spans multiple learner populations:
- Fourth-Year Medical Students participate in a one-month elective that includes four in-person group cooking sessions plus four additional modules completed independently, for eight culinary medicine experiences in total. For the independent modules, students prepare recipes on their own and then meet as a group to discuss both the recipes and the associated case studies. Topics covered include weight management, lipids, carbohydrates and diabetes, protein, hypertension, pediatric nutrition, food allergies, and food insecurity, with class size capped at 20 students to support hands-on engagement.
- Internal Medicine Residents complete 4 culinary medicine sessions per year, organized across four resident groups (houses) for scheduling. Recent topics have included introductory culinary medicine, lipids, hypertension, and carbohydrates — cycling through additional classes year over year. A new resident elective piloted in late 2025, beginning with pediatrics and expanding to include experiential placements alongside RDs, psychologists, eating disorder clinicians, WIC staff, and school lunch programs.
The program is based in the teaching kitchens at the University of Memphis School of Hospitality, a partnership that provides UTHSC access to professional facilities, food sourcing support, and two CCMP-certified chef educators. Drs. Assfoura and Ross have also been working with the medical education deans to identify opportunities to weave nutrition throughout both preclinical and clinical curricula — a longer-term goal of integrating Food is Medicine principles at every stage of training.
Faculty Leadership
Rana Assfoura, MD, FAAP, CCMS — Program Director Dr. Rana Assfoura is an Assistant Professor in the Department of General Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis. A graduate of the University of Damascus Medical School and a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, she completed her pediatrics residency at UTHSC/Le Bonheur before joining the faculty as a clinical educator. Dr. Assfoura is a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist and currently serves as Director of the UTHSC Culinary Medicine Program and Faculty Advisor for the Food Is Medicine student group. She dedicates 25% of her academic time to culinary medicine program development and instruction.
Jordan Ross, MD, CCMS — Physician Co-Instructor Dr. Jordan Ross is a native Memphian and med/peds endocrinologist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, with clinical interests in metabolic bone disease and transitions of care for young adults with chronic endocrine conditions. He is actively involved in both programs at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital and contributes to undergraduate medical education alongside Dr. Assfoura. A Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist, he brings the clinical lens of endocrinology and metabolism directly into the teaching kitchen — connecting culinary skills to the realities of chronic disease management in both pediatric and adult patients. Outside the hospital, Jordan is an enthusiastic host of dinner parties and game nights.
Chef Joshua House, CCMP & Chef Eric Eeter, CCMP — Culinary Partners The program’s culinary instruction is led by two Certified Culinary Medicine Practitioners from the University of Memphis School of Hospitality, who bring professional kitchen expertise, food sourcing support, and culinary medicine training to every session.
Spotlight & Media
- The program has been featured in Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) coverage highlighting how culinary medicine is training the next generation of physicians: How Culinary Medicine Is Training Future Doctors
- Residents consistently describe the program as popular and highly engaging — learners arrive motivated, participate actively, and leave with skills they apply both personally and in patient care.
Impact & Outcomes
Resident feedback reflects the program’s dual impact: practical cooking skills that carry over into daily life, and improved competency in nutrition counseling for patients. Dr. Assfoura describes the most meaningful result as empowering learners — closing the gap between nutrition knowledge and clinical practice. The program has also served as a connector, opening doors to new collaborations with the University of Memphis, UTHSC’s Healthy Lifestyle Clinic at Le Bonheur, and community partners in health education and food access.
