Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition
Food As Medicine

Culinary Medicine

The Mediterranean Approach to Chronic Disease Prevention

February 26, 2026 - George Brown College

Culinary Medicine is a highly immersive, one-day workshop that focuses on practical strategies you can implement directly into clinical practice. Covering knowledge translation tools, food selection and preparation, you will learn how to effectively help patients integrate therapeutic dietary patterns into their lifestyle.

With a focus on type 2 diabetes management, a Recipe and Cooking Demonstration led jointly by a professional chef and physician will showcase budget-friendly ingredient options and cooking techniques that can be modified for a variety of dietary accommodations and suitable for the whole family. A simulated Grocery Shopping Experience will introduce widely accessible, convenient, and low-cost food options included in low glycemic index diets that are available in most grocery stores. You will learn how easily modifiable factors such as cooking techniques and food variety can impact the glycemic index of a food.

Join us for a day of fun and interactive learning, recipe testing, and food tasting. Explore how we can integrate nutrition and lifestyle medicine education into clinical practice for better health outcomes. As health care providers, we can inspire a movement of healthy cooking and eating by sharing this knowledge with our patients.

Target Audience

This workshop is designed for primary care providers who are interested in integrating nutrition education into their practice.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, learners will be better able to:

  • Summarize the evidence behind the Mediterranean diet for the prevention and management of chronic disease
  • Describe key components and features of the Mediterranean diet that supports the prevention and management of chronic disease.
  • Implement effective strategies to facilitate a patient’s integration of therapeutic dietary patterns into their lifestyle, including knowledge translation tools, food selection and preparation.