TEACHING KITCHEN

purpose of the teaching kitchen

At the CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM), we believe we can help improve the health of our community by educating our medical students and others in the Central Valley on healthy eating and nutrition. It is so important that we incorporated it into our COM curriculum where our medical students will learn the basics of nutrition and culinary medicine through team-based learning applications, case studies, and hands-on cooking classes in our Teaching Kitchen in our CHSU-COM building.

Our brand new Teaching Kitchen will allow for hands-on learning and large group demonstrations and is equipped with equipment similar to a home kitchen so students and the community can have a realistic, hands-on experience preparing healthy meals that they can recreate at home. Fresh and locally sourced food from the agriculturally rich and diverse Central Valley will be used whenever possible so healthy meals prepared in the Teaching Kitchen align with available resources, dietary preferences and cultural traditions.

“Our role at the medical school is to train future doctors while educating the community on healthy eating, which will help future generations make better choices,” says John Graneto, DO, MEd, Dean of College of Osteopathic Medicine.

teaching kitchen Facilities

The CHSU Teaching Kitchen is located in the CHSU College of Osteopathic Medicine building and is equipped with all of the essentials for a cooking class (including ovens, range, food preparation areas, refrigerator, storage), as well as multiple cameras and viewing screens so culinary techniques can be demonstrated for a large class or recorded for future class review. There are also an abundance of tables and chairs so that the students can participate in the class and then enjoy the healthy meal they prepared together. The kitchen will be used for hands-on cooking classes for medical students, interprofessional classes with other healthcare providers in training, and to teach cooking classes to local community groups.

nutrition and culinary medicine Curriculum

The CHSU-COM incorporates nutrition into each course taught in the first two years of our Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) program. Medical students will learn the basics of nutrition through team-based learning applications, case studies, and hands-on cooking classes in the Teaching Kitchen. With an understanding of basic nutrition and the hands-on culinary medicine training our medical students receive, they will be prepared to think of disease prevention and management through the lens of lifestyle intervention alongside possible prescription medications. Taking the whole body approach, our nutrition curriculum aligns with the philosophy of osteopathic medicine as well as the current guidelines for chronic disease prevention and management.

Students will specifically learn how to cook healthy, delicious recipes for the promotion of overall health as well as prevention and management of chronic conditions including:

• High blood pressure
• Diabetes
• Food allergies
• Celiac disease

meet the nutrition team

Emily Johnston, PhD, MPH, RDN

Assistant Professor of
Biomedical Education
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Avtar Nijjer-Sidhu, PhD, RD

Assistant Professor of
Primary Care
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Sara Goldgraben, MD, MPH, MBA

Assistant Professor of
Specialty Medicine
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Samuel Kadavakollu, PhD, MSc

Interim Department Chair and Associate Professor of Biomedical Education, and Director of MCAT and Preparatory Programs
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