Culinary Medicine Workshop Series

  • The workshops are facilitated by NJMS Alumna & Humanism Fellow Alumna and Culinary Medicine Physician, Dr. Brianna Fowls (Class of 2012).
  • Culinary medicine is an emerging field in medicine which gives healthcare providers an education to help them improve the diets of their patients. It incorporates nutritional knowledge about foods, in addition to culinary techniques to prepare food. Dr Fowls is a family medicine physician with a strong interest and training in culinary medicine. She provides students at NJMS with a hands-on cooking class that serves as an introduction to culinary medicine. Topics covered include connection of diet to health, types of diets, cooking on a budget and with time constraints, and personal & cultural considerations of diet choice. Eating together is an important component of building community- and the class helps to open discussions about fostering healthy communities. Our goal is to discuss the relationship between culinary medicine, humanism, and health, as well as enjoying simple, nutritious recipes.
  • The class is in the format of a brief lecture on culinary medicine and knife skills demonstration. Followed by a hands-on cooking session to make budget friendly culturally inspired meals. At the end, students will enjoy their culinary creations and they will discuss how food is important in their lives and how they could use this knowledge to improve the health of themselves, their patients, and their communities.
  • Three sessions are offered in the Fall of the academic year. Class size is limited to 20 student participants.

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Culinary Medicine

“You are what you eat.”-anonymous.

Food plays a central part of many people’s individual lives and cultures in addition to having a critical role in people’s health.

Led by alum and culinary medicine specialist, Brianna Fowls, MD, students explore the connections between humanism and food, the core concepts of culinary medicine, and the influence of food on various medical conditions.

Following an engaging talk about how food relates to health conditions, students break into small groups to prepare delicious dishes related to each session's topic, gaining practical experience and insight. Afterwards, they gather for a shared meal and engaging discussions on food, health, community, and overcoming barriers to nutritious eating.

The program blends science and humanism with the art of cooking to empower future physicians with invaluable knowledge and skills. 

 

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Brianna Fowls, MD
Humanism Fellow Alumni
NJMS Class of 2011