Spring Symposium Workshop
Implementing Culinary Medicine from a Micro to Macro Scale
Foundational concepts, practical applications, and implementation strategies to help dietitians incorporate culinary medicine into practice
In collaboration with
Olivia Thomas, MS, RDN, LDN, and Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, FAND
Date
Sunday May 17, 2026
Time
10am – 12pm
Location
Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort
Orlando, Florida
Thanks to our Sponsors
Culinary medicine is a huge buzz word, but how can you apply and implement it in your worksite or practice? This exclusive pre-symposium event will showcase the power of recipes as foundational tools for nutrition education in the expanding field of culinary nutrition and culinary medicine.
Participants will learn about the world of culinary medicine and the vast array of practical applications on a macro scale. The presenters will discuss real-life examples of recipe development used in various settings as education tools and cookbook creation.
A superstar panel of four seasoned registered dietitians will discuss real-life experiences and lead smaller discussions to provide personalized insight to participants who seek to further their knowledge in this area to implement into practice.
Throughout the event, participants will enjoy:
- A full breakfast
- Curated swag bags including signed cookbook of choice written by panelists
- Three randomly selected attendees will win a 1-hour consulting session with Toby’s literary agent, Sally Ekus
- Intimate atmosphere for networking with leading voices in culinary nutrition
Event Highlights
- One hour didactic presentation on the application of culinary nutrition across a continuum of education experiences—from micro-level instruction, such as consumer-focused recipes for home cooks, to macro-level engagements, including large ballroom workshops at conferences featuring sponsor-integrated foods.
- 40-minute expert panel featuring Olivia Thomas, MS, RDN, LDN, Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, FAND, Christina Badaracco, MPH, RDN, LDN, and Maggie Moon, MS, RD, discussing their various careers paths and how culinary medicine played a role in their dietetic practices, including cookbook publishing (traditional, self-publishing, e‑books). A Q&A discussion will follow the session.
- 30-minute breakout sessions led by panel members for deeper exploration on self‑publishing, digital publishing, and culinary medicine implementation within practice.
Learning Objectives
After completing the workshop, participants will be able to:
- Define culinary nutrition and explain how it functions as a translational, behavior-change–focused practice distinct from traditional nutrition education and aligned with the food as medicine movement.
- Describe the roles of an interprofessional culinary nutrition team and identify macro-level implementation strategies across clinical care, community settings, education, performance nutrition, and business sectors, including corporate, retail, commodity boards, and consumer packaged goods.
- Apply culinary nutrition principles using recipes as tools to translate nutrition science into practical, culturally relevant, and approachable food-based guidance.
- Analyze the use of recipes and cookbooks as vehicles for nutrition education, communication, and patient engagement across clinical, community, and food service contexts.
- Identify key considerations in recipe development and cookbook publishing, including audience needs, cultural relevance, flexibility, and pathways for professional skill-building and dissemination.
Organizers
Olivia Thomas, PhD(c), RDN, LDN
Olivia is the Director of Nutrition Innovation and Implementation at Boston Medical Center, where she leads efforts to integrate food-based interventions into clinical care and develop community-driven, culturally affirming programs to prevent and manage diet-related chronic diseases. Olivia pioneered nutrition-focused training for healthcare professionals by co-founding the Boston University Medical School culinary medicine program. Additionally, she leads hands-on workshops and consults with institutions like Columbia University, Penn State University, and the Obesity Medicine Association. A passionate advocate for accessible, inclusive, and equitable nutrition resources, Olivia has spearheaded the development of technology-enabled and printed products that bring personalized culinary medicine.
An accomplished writer and speaker, Olivia regularly publishes and presents on nutrition, culinary medicine, and community engagement topics. Olivia is a PhD student at Australian Catholic University and serves as Co-Chair of the Membership Strategy Committee for the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative.
Toby Amidor, MS, RD, CDN, FAND
Toby is a Wall Street Journal bestselling cookbook author and has 11 published cookbooks. For over 17 years Toby has been the nutrition expert for FoodNetwork.com, and founding contributor to their Healthy Eats Blog. Toby is a regular contributor for many national online publications and for over 10 years has been penning the “Ask the Expert” column in Today’s Dietitian Magazine. She is also on the medical board for Forbes.com and EatThis.com and on the editorial board for Today’s Dietitian Magazine. As a nutrition expert, she has been quoted in hundreds of publications and regularly appears on local and national television shows. For 11 years Toby was an adjunct professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and an adjunct at Quinnipiac University.
Toby trained as a clinical dietitian at New York University. Through ongoing consulting and faculty positions, she has established herself as one of the top experts in culinary nutrition, food safety, and media communications. In 2018, Toby was awarded by the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics the coveted Media Excellence Award.
Panel Members
Christina Badaracco, MPH, RDN, LDN
Christina Badaracco, MPH, RDN, LDN, works as a healthcare consultant, author, and thought leader, seeking to advance the role of nutrition in healthcare. She applies her expertise in healthcare and public health research, policy, and practice to support leading institutions and organizations across the world to improve care delivery and health outcomes. She also regularly writes, teaches, and develops training and programs about nutrition, culinary medicine, and sustainable agriculture—including designing and directing award-winning and innovative culinary medicine training and programs for various healthcare institutions and professional associations and coauthoring The Farm Bill: A Citizen’s Guide and Mix It Up. Christina previously worked for Avalere, a healthcare advisory firm, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Teaching Kitchen Collaborative, Oakland Unified School District, and NIH Clinical Center. Christina holds various leadership roles within the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Slow Food and she is actively engaged in her local food and healthcare systems. She is a graduate of Princeton University and U.C. Berkeley.
Maggie Moon, MS, RD
Maggie Moon, MS, RD, is a leading voice in culinary nutrition for brain health who shares her expertise with millions at international and domestic events, as well as broadcast, print and online media. She is lead author of the “MNT for Neurologic Disorders” chapter in Krause and Mahan’s Food and the Nutrition Care Process textbook (15e, 16e, 17e in press), and best-selling author of The MIND Diet: A Scientific Approach to Enhancing Brain Function and Helping Prevent Alzheimer’s and Dementia. She works as a consultant to government agencies, national non-profits, and global brands, and serves on multiple expert advisory boards including the ICNHN Advisory Board, a multidisciplinary group of leaders guiding the strategic direction of the ICAA Culinary, Nutrition & Hospitality Network. Maggie’s career spans curriculum development, innovation R&D in the CPG and retail space, food systems change, and nutrition communications strategy. Maggie is based in Los Angeles where she attended culinary school. Her dietetic internship was completed at NY Presbyterian; She is a graduate of U.C. Berkeley and Columbia University.