Zest: The Health meets Food Newsletter
November 2025
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.
Culinary Medicine Roundtable: Interprofessional Culinary Medicine: A Pathway to Medical Education Reform
Our next Culinary Medicine Roundtable will be held on Thursday, November 13, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM Eastern time.
With growing calls to integrate foundational nutrition education into healthcare professional training, the American College of Culinary Medicine will offer information and solutions during our next Culinary Medicine Roundtable.
The roundtable will highlight how interprofessional teams can transform medical education and patient care. Experts from medicine, dietetics, culinary arts, and allied health will share best practices that eliminate silos, foster accountability across disciplines, and demonstrate how system-level reforms can make collaboration sustainable.
Speakers:
- Nate Wood, MD, MHS, Chef, DipABLM, DABOM – Yale School of Medicine
- Heather Nace, RD, LDN – Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, Tulane University
- Elizabeth DeRose, CHE, CCMP – Frederick Community College
- Kathryn Neill, PharmD, CCMS, FNAP – University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
- Moderator: Leah Sarris, MBA, RD, LDN, CCMS – Culinary Medicine Consulting
Once you have registered you will be able to access the materials and Zoom link from the MyCourses dashboard on the CulinaryMedicine.org website.
Register for the Roundtable Now!
Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference
The Super-Early-Bird rate is automatically applied at check out and is a discount of $100.00 off the standard rate.
The conference will take place June 11 through June 14, 2026.
There will be an online streaming option using a virtual conference platform that will allow for a conference experience including lectures, expert panels, culinary skills-building programming, and small group interactions with your colleagues.
• Participate in educational sessions dedicated to Culinary Medicine (up to 12 hours CME/CNE/CPE or ACP CHE).
• Two hands-on skills building sessions.
• Review Culinary Medicine courseware with colleagues from over 60 academic medical centers.
• Earn CME/CNE/CPE/CCMS credits with optional hands-on cooking classes.
• Present current research.
• Participate in poster sessions.
FRIDAY: REBOOT OF FUNDAMENTAL KNOWLEDGE
Friday programming will focus on macronutrients and the most up-to-date research with presentations focused on helping debunk many myths, including fatty acids and non-nutritive vs. artificial sweeteners.
SATURDAY: CHALLENGES IN CULINARY MEDICINE
Saturday programming will focus on macronutrients and the most up-to-date research with presentations focused on helping debunk many myths around nutrition’s hottest topic: protein.
SUNDAY: LOOKING TO THE HORIZON – FOOD FOR THOUGHT
What are the current issues and impact of Culinary Medicine programs and best practices around implementation.
Register for the Conference Now! View the Conference Agenda
Conference Speaker Spotlight
Matthew J. Landry, PhD, RDN
Protein: Plant Based Nutrition, Culture, & Sustainability
University of California Irvine
Assistant Professor of Population Health and Disease Prevention Matthew Landry, PhD, RDN believes that education and awareness are key to better community health and well-being. He also believes overall wellness is a result of a combination of factors: diet, sleep, and physical activity. It was the interdisciplinary, person-centric nature of public health that originally drew him into the field. Specifically, it was a class on Nutrition, Education and Counseling at Louisiana State University that sold him on pursuing a career in nutrition sciences and health promotion. The course asked the question: How do we get people to change their diets? What’s in it for them?
Landry’s path toward academia partly stems from having a family of teachers and his overall love and curiosity for the sciences. Armed with a doctoral degree in nutrition sciences and experience as a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, he is ready to grow UCI Public Health’s nutrition and wellness expertise and course offerings. He’s looking forward to connecting with other faculty members across the UCI Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences and creating collaborations that will ultimately help underserved sectors of our population and prepare a public health workforce that can address issues such as food and nutrition security and health equity.
Dr. Landry answers the ACCM Food Lover’s Questionnaire
What is your favorite ingredient?
Mushrooms, they’re so versatile and can pack so much flavor.
What is your least favorite ingredient?
Eggplant, the texture never quite works for me, no matter the preparation.
What turns you on creatively?
Working on projects that feel meaningful and connected to real people.
What turns you off?
Lack of purpose or creating something just for the sake of output without any meaning.
What is your favorite recipe or meal?
Pad Kee Mao (drunken noodles) with tofu.
What culinary flavor or aroma do you love?
I love the taste of lemongrass.
What culinary flavor or aroma do you hate?
Artificial butter flavoring. There’s no comparison to the real thing.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
I would love to be a city planner. I think it would be fun to create plans that help shape communities, promote walkability, and improve access to food and recreational spaces.
What profession would you not like to do?
I’m always behind with the trends, so I feel I wouldn’t succeed as a social media content creator.
Julia Child invites you to a pot luck dinner with James Beard and Aguste Escoffier. What dish would you take?
Vegan collard greens.
ACCM Health meets Food Beginner Community Cooking Series
Join us on Saturday mornings starting in January 2026 for the 7 session Health meets Food virtual hands on beginner cooking series. As with all of our virtual classes, the series may be attended anywhere in the world as long as you can attend at 11:30AM Eastern time via Zoom. The series package is $300, but is currently discounted to $240 for all 7 classes.
If you wish to give the series as a gift, we offer a gift card option. Recipients may have to wait for a later session if the next one that is scheduled is full.
January 10 – Saturday – Orientation and access to learning materials
January 17 – Saturday – Beginner Lesson 1 – Mediterranean Diet, Introduction to Cooking and Reading Recipes
January 24 – Saturday – Beginner Lesson 2 – Macronutrients, Dairy, Breakfast and Understanding Nutrition Labels
January 31 – Saturday – Beginner Lesson 3 – Vegetables, Portion Sizes and Lunch
February 14 – Saturday – Beginner Lesson 4 – Legumes, Good Shopping Habits and Delectable Dinners
February 21 – Saturday – Beginner Lesson 5 – Carbohydrates, Fruits and Nuts, Snacking and Desserts, Sweeteners
March 7 – Saturday – Beginner Lesson 6 – Fats and Cholesterol.
Classes will begin at 11:30 AM Eastern time each session and last for approximately 2 1/2 hours.
Classes will be held using Zoom and participants will be provided with shopping lists and equipment lists for each session to select what they would like to cook. Detailed instruction and help will be provided by instructors during each session.
The class is led by Dr. Allison Jordan and Chef/Dietitian Max Goldstein. Both are Certified Culinary Medicine Specialists and have been leading community classes for years.
Register for the Community Classes Now!
Culinary Medicine Roundtable: Culinary Medicine in Dietetic Training Programs – Recording Now Available
The ACCM will offer a Culinary Medicine Roundtable focused on incorporating Culinary Medicine into professional dietetic programs on Thursday, October 24, 4:00 PM – 5;00 PM Eastern time.
With growing calls to integrate foundational nutrition education into healthcare professional training, the American College of Culinary Medicine will offer information and solutions during our next Culinary Medicine Roundtable.
• Jennifer Leon, BS, RDN, LN, CCMS – George Washington University – The Role of Dietitians in Medical Student, Undergraduate and Community Culinary Medicine Programs
• Anne VanBeber. PhD,RD,LD, CCMS, CFCS, FAND – Texas Christian University – A Decade of Experience with Culinary Medicine
• Amy Gannon EdD, RDN, LD – Marshall University – Collaboration with Medical Student Programs
• Amy Moyer, M.ED, RDN,LDN, CCMS – UNC Greensboro – Culinary Medicine in Dietetic Training and Undergraduate Courseware
Once you have registered you will be able to access the materials and Zoom link from the MyCourses dashboard on the CulinaryMedicine.org website.
See the Roundtable Recording Now!
Culinary Skills Building Videos are Now Available on YouTube!
Want to learn how to slice and dice from the pros? Have trouble with cutting up your onions or carrots? Join Culinary Medicine specialists online for expert instruction! You can find culinary skills building videos from the ACCM on our YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@ACCM-HmF
In addition to culinary skills building videos and specialists sharing their views on Culinary Medicine, you have access to recordings from seven years of Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference, spanning from 2017 through 2024.
Be sure to click on the Subscribe button to be updated when new videos are added. We will be adding lots of new programming throughout 2025 to the channel.
Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel Now
Culinary Medicine in the News
Defining the evolving field of culinary medicine across multiple domains
Culinary medicine is an evolving field that spans multiple professions and settings. Prior definitions of culinary medicine may not reflect the expansion of this discipline or the variety of key stakeholders engaged in culinary medicine. To address the need for an updated definition of what culinary medicine means, a working group consisting of a variety of roles and professional/community settings was assembled to reach a consensus definition that is reflective of the current landscape of culinary medicine.
Popular protein powders found to contain concerning levels of lead, report warns
“I think we should listen to those warnings and if there’s a source of lead that’s higher in one food, one brand than another, avoid that higher brand,” said Tulane adjunct professor and thoracic surgeon, Dr. Ron Quinton, Medical Director of the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine.
Dr. Quinton says no level of lead is safe. It accumulates in our body, harming the brain and neurological system. It is especially dangerous for unborn babies all the way up to young adults in the mid-twenties while the brain is still developing.
“You don’t need a protein powder to get enough protein in your life. It’s a luxury rather than a necessity. There’s plenty of protein in the food that we naturally eat. So, you can avoid it all together,” added Dr. Quinton.
New ways to promote healthier living in children
Doctors in Louisiana are implementing new programs to tackle the state’s high childhood obesity rates, ranking third in the nation.
Nate Wood: Cooking Lessons for Better Health
Howard Forman and Harlan Krumholz, two Yale physician-professors, discuss the latest news and ideas in healthcare and seek out the truth amid the noise.
Produced with the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of Public Health. New episodes are available every Thursday.
New lessons in lifestyle medicine, with Jennifer Trilk, Ph.D., FACSM, DipACLM
Trilk explains how training future doctors in nutrition, physical activity, behavior change and self-care is key to preventing chronic disease — and why prevention needs to be valued as highly as treatment. She also shares how the school’s hands-on approach, including culinary and teaching kitchens, helps students translate science into real-world patient care.
The discussion covers the evolution of nutrition education in medical schools, national policy efforts to prioritize “food as medicine,” and what it will take for lifestyle medicine to become a standard part of every physician’s toolkit.
Find a Culinary Medicine Specialist or Professional or a Culinary Medicine Program Near You
The ACCM Culinary Medicine Directory has been updated and is easier to search for a Certified Culinary Medicine Specialist or Professional or a program offering Culinary Medicine in your area.
This includes medical schools, residency programs, culinary schools, and dietetic programs as well as healthcare professionals and chefs practicing Culinary Medicine. Search by name, address, city, Zip Code and other parameters.
Want to update your listing?
Certified CCMS and CCMP grads should send an email to webmaster@culinarymedicine.org with your new or updated details. Listings must include your name and Zip code at minimum, but you may also include:
- Photo
- Biography
- Business street address (exact address) – this should not be your home address
- Business phone number
- Business email address
- Website
- Social media links, including Facebook, Instagram, or X (LinkedIn coming soon)
Listings may be edited for length or clarity.
Apply for the 2026 Nancy Kistler Scholarship
The American College of Culinary Medicine will present the first recipient of the Nancy Kistler Culinary Medicine Scholarship.
If you are interested, please use the link below to apply to be considered for the 2026 scholarship.
When the ACCM launched the Certified Culinary Medicine Professional Course, Chef Kistler was the first participant to enroll. This scholarship honors the life and legacy of Chef Nancy Kistler, commemorating Chef Kistler’s passion for great food and her understanding of the complex relationship of food and health. As an educator with an intellectual curiosity and desire to learn, she valued evidence-based information and demanded excellence from herself and her students. This scholarship will be awarded to a like-minded female chef educator.
Aims: The primary aim of this scholarship is to offer financial support to a current female culinary educator of future culinarians in obtaining the Certified Culinary Medicine Professional designation.
Learn More and Apply Now! Donate to the Scholarship Fund
Featured Recipe: Salmon Stew
This recipe is a good template to use for almost any fish stew that you like. Use salmon, cod, shrimp, mussels, clams, etc.. The key is to simmer the vegetables, potatoes and herbs in the stock very slowly so that the potatoes cook slowly and release some starch to help thicken the soup.
You can substitute some of the veggies if you wish – scallions for onions, maybe sweet potatoes or yams for the potatoes or carrots for the celery.
One good trick for the thyme is to leave it on the stem (about 4 or 5 stems equals a teaspoon of leaves). At the end of simmering simply remove the stems and discard. Trim the woody bottoms from the stem prior to adding them to the pan.
The ACCM website has thousands of recipes for you to try. Every recipe offers information on health benefits as well as potential allergies and are tagged to indicate whether they might be GERD friendly, gluten free, low sodium, safe for warfarin users, or those who are lactose intolerant.
This combined with the ACCM Med Diet Score application gives you amazing tools to eat great food that just happens to be great for you.
Upcoming Virtual Culinary Medicine Classes
The Health meets Food team has been offering virtual online hands-on Culinary Medicine programming for almost 5 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.
Module 16 – Anti Inflammatory Diet: Friday November 7, 2025 4:00 pm – 7:30 pm EST via Zoom
Module 7 – Carbohydrates & Diabetes: Saturday November 8, 2025 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 4 – Food Allergy & Intolerance: Saturday January 17, 2026 12 pm – 3:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 7 – Carbohydrates: Sunday February 22, 2026 3 pm – 6:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 16 – Anti-Inflammatory Diet: Saturday April 11, 2026 12 pm – 3:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 3 – Fats: Sunday April 12, 2026, 3 pm – 6:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 17 – IBS IBD GERD: Friday July 17, 2026 4 pm – 7:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 13 – Celiac Disease: Saturday August 15, 2026 12 pm – 3:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 8 – The Pediatric Diet – Saturday October 17, 2026 12 pm – 3:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 3 – Fats: Sunday October 18, 2026, 3 pm – 6:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 16 – Anti-Inflammatory Diet: Friday November 13, 2026 4 pm – 7:30 pm EST via Zoom
CME Module 7 – Carbohydrates: Saturday November 14, 2026 3 pm – 6:30 pm EST via Zoom
Culinary Medicine Roundtable: Medically Tailored Meals – Recording Now Available
Building on conversations started at the 2024 Health meets Food: The Culinary Medicine Conference, the ACCM convened experts in the field to offer further insight into the history, implementation, public health implications and innovations in medically tailored meal programs.
Roundtable Agenda
Opening Remarks – Nicole Farmer, MD – Section Chief, Dietary Behaviors and Biopsychosocial Health Section
Jean L. Lloyd, MS, RD, Nutritionist – Administration on Aging, US Dept. of Health and Human Services
Uche Akobundu, PhD, Senior Director, Nutrition Strategy – Meals on Wheels America
Kofi Essel, MD, MPH, FAAP, Food as Medicine Program Director – Elevance Health
Panel Discussion
Register for and watch the Roundtable Now!
ACCM Med Diet Score Application
What’s Your Score?
What if there were an app that could tell you what your Mediterranean Diet Score was?
You can do that now with the ACCM Med Diet Score, our flagship desktop and mobile app, designed to help improve the quality of the calories you consume.
The Health meets Food courseware teaches you how to eat great food, and the basis for our style of eating is the nine points of a Mediterranean-style Diet:
1. More vegetables,
2. More legumes,
3. More fruits and nuts,
4. More whole grains,
5. Better quality oils and fats,
6. Less land animal protein,
7. More seafood,
8. Less dairy and more reduced-fat and fermented dairy, and
9. Alcohol only in moderation.
Healthy Recipes
Med Diet Score includes over 2,000 healthy recipes, from Breakfasts to Desserts, created and tested by the Health meets Food team.
Meal Planner
Use Med Diet Score to create 2-week meal plans for one person, families, or groups – including shopping lists. Save time and money by planning ahead!
Food Diary
Track foods consumed using data from one of the most complete nutritional databases available anywhere.
Exercise Diary
Track exercise with calories calculated automatically. Connect common wearable exercise trackers such as Apple Watch and Fitbit.
But it’s much more than a food and exercise diary and calorie tracker!
It’s called Med Diet Score because it tracks your overall Mediterranean Diet Score according to the nine principles of a Mediterranean-style diet.
Health meets Food Culinary Medicine Research Library
The Clinical Practice Committee has continued to work on a Culinary Medicine Research Library and this month is the first of our curated articles. These are selected from a monthly search undertaken by students at the GWU Culinary Medicine Interest Group with leadership of the project recently taken over by Kaylee Fisher and Jeni Zhang from last year’s team of Hanna Harris, AJ Hora, and Trinity Rico.
You can find the library at this link: https://culinarymedicine.org/research-2/culinary-medicine-research-library/
If you are interested in synchronizing the database to your desktop version of Zotero, complete the form on the library page.
Manuscripts added to the library this month:
Alcorn, M., Childress, A., Najam, W., & Galyean, S. (2025). Culinary Medicine Program Using Herbs and Spices to Increase Vegetable Consumption Among Adults with Hypertension: A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study. American journal of health promotion : AJHP, 8901171251380839. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/08901171251380839
Perspective: Food Is Medicine: Hype or Hope?
Glenn, A. J., & Hu, F. B. (2025). Perspective: Food Is Medicine: Hype or Hope?. The Journal of nutrition, S0022-3166(25)00531-0. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjnut.2025.08.025
da Fonseca, P. G., Siqueira, L. C., Raposo, A., Alslamah, T., Albaridi, N. A., Saraiva, A., & Guimarães, N. S. (2025). From kitchen to health: how culinary workshops influence eating habits, autonomy, and wellbeing in adults-A scoping review. Frontiers in nutrition, 12, 1653406. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1653406
Brown, B., Adediran, E., Taylor, E., Ose, D., & Okuyemi, K. (2025). Culinary Medicine Interventions Among Racial and Ethnic Minority and Underrepresented Populations: A Systematic Review. American journal of lifestyle medicine, 15598276251370976. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/15598276251370976
Wood, N. I., Fussell, M., Benghiat, E., Silver, L., Goldstein, M., Ralph, A., Mastroianni, L., Spatz, E., Small, D., Fisher, R., & Windish, D. (2025). A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Culinary Medicine Intervention in a Virtual Teaching Kitchen for Primary Care Residents. Journal of general internal medicine, 40(11), 2668–2678. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-025-09652-x
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 offer pioneering Culinary Medicine programming for chefs and foodservice professionals. The programming is 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.
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.
American College of Culinary Medicine Clothing and Swag
We are excited to announce the availability of 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, embroidered aprons, mugs, and water bottles.
