Content provided by: Tiffani Ghere, Clinical Pediatric Dietitian
Our knowledge of food is constantly evolving, so Chef Azmin stays on top of it by continuing to educate himself. Classes, seminars, symposiums; meetings with dietitians, doctors, chefs, and experts in well-being; visits to farms, food mills, and production centers; conferences like Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives & Healthy Flavors, Healthy Kids: all these are means of expanding his knowledge in the field. Additionally, he travels greatly, searching for new flavors, different cultural cuisines, and even unfamiliar foods, and he works with creative, upcoming new chefs to shake things up. He's constantly seeking new ideas and inspiration. After all, he says, when you're cooking, you want to always use the freshest ingredients — and that includes your attitude.
HEALTHY KITCHENS, HEALTHY LIVES | March 22 – 25, 2012
Culinary Institute of America at Greystone Campus
Presented by Harvard School of Public Health and Culinary Institute of America
A Leadership Conference Bridging Nutrition Science, Health Care, and the Culinary Arts. An Annual Gathering of Physicians, Dietitians, Nurses and other Healthcare Professionals; Hospital, Insurance, and Other Healthcare Executives; and Healthcare Foodservice.
Physicians, dietitians, economists and politicians, with unprecedented unity, are warning that the recent increases in obesity and diabetes are creating extraordinary public health challenges nationally and globally. According to a recent Institute of Medicine report: "The great advances of genetics and biomedical discoveries could be more than offset by the burden of illness, disability and death caused by too many people eating too much and moving too little over their lifetime."
How many doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals are truly knowledgeable about the latest scientific evidence to distinguish "healthy" verses less healthy or unhealthy foods? How many know how best to successfully engage their patients to improve their nutritional choices and lifestyles? How many can serve as role models, coaches and teachers to shift the way adults think about purchasing, preparing, and enjoying healthy and delicious foods? In this conference, faculty members from Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health will present the state of the science of diet and nutrition.
These experts will be joined by world class chef educators from The Culinary Institute of America to lead demonstrations and hands-on teaching sessions (literally in the kitchen) for health care providers who wish to learn about selection, purchase and preparation strategies and techniques for healthy foods and healthy cooking. Conference attendees will not only be exposed to the latest systematic reviews of nutrition science, they will also taste, prepare and learn to teach others to enjoy a broad selection of foods which can reduce disease risk and, ideally, replace unhealthy habits.
HEALTHY FLAVORS, HEALTHY KIDS | May 9 – 11, 2012
Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio
Presented by Culinary Institute of America
In May of 2011, the CIA expanded its mission to advance healthier food choices through its new Healthy Flavors, Healthy Kids initiative, beginning with a national, invitational culinary and nutrition leadership summit held at the CIA's new San Antonio, Texas campus. May 9-12, 2012.
The core of the Healthy Flavors, Healthy Kids initiative is focusing on culinary insights and actions around K-12 school foodservice, but chain and other restaurant kids' menus, campus dining, and the family food environment are also being examined. And in all cases, we are looking to enhance the role of America's chefs as leaders and change agents, principally through better equipping them with the understanding and kinds of tools they will need to be more effective in transforming the food environments of children, youth, and their families.