Curriculum builds both nutritional knowledge and culinary skills

Thursday, October 17, 2019
Professor Charlie Caramihalis instructs a student in the new Culinary Nutrition and Food Studies minor

The is now offering a . Students in the minor learn foundational food preparation skills within the context of nutritional science and develop an understanding of the food environment and culture as it applies to human health.

The minor is designed to benefit students preparing for careers in allied health or health promotion, including dietitians, physicians, wellness coaches and nurses, and is designed to respond to the growing need for training in culinary nutrition.听Dietitians, physicians, wellness coaches, nurses, and other health care providers with strong culinary skills will likely be better equipped to empower clients to choose and prepare healthier food choices.听

鈥淭his is ideal for students who want to have skills in culinary arts, mainly basic food prep and some advanced food prep, and understand the role nutritious food plays in good health,鈥 says Professor Charlie Caramihalis. 鈥淗owever, there are many other students on the periphery, like hospitality management. Maybe they want to be a chef, maybe they want to be a food and beverage director. Certainly, nutrition plays a part whether you鈥檙e in a hospital setting or in a restaurant setting. And being able to prepare basic healthy meals is just a great life skill for anyone.鈥

The new minor capitalizes on the expertise and resources that already exist in COLSA鈥檚 department of Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems, particularly in nutrition, culinary arts, and global agriculture, and supports the college鈥檚 mission to equip students with a profession-ready globally relevant education.

The curriculum includes hands-on learning in the full equipped professional kitchen on campus and the flexibility to incorporate study abroad coursework via the听听program.

After dedicating his life to preparing and teaching others how to prepare food, Caramihalis is excited about adding this new dimension to the culinary curriculum.

鈥淔or culinary arts to merge with nutritional sciences to create a strong didactic as well as hands on curriculum is really a dream come true for those of us in food and nutrition at the university,鈥 says Caramihalis. 鈥淭he scientists, the culinary instructors, the research, it鈥檚 all right here. We have farms, we鈥檙e growing vegetables, we鈥檝e got aquaculture, we raise animals and livestock, we鈥檙e composting, and now we鈥檙e filling in the missing pieces for our students in the farm-to-fork chain. I鈥檓 excited to see the minor grow and build it into what I know it can be.鈥

  • Written By:

    Sarah Schaier | College of Life Sciences and Agriculture