Congratulations to our 2022 Culinary Nutrition Experts!

The 2022 term of the Culinary Nutrition Expert Program has wrapped up and we are unbelievably proud of this year’s incredible community. Our 2022 culinary nutrition experts came from across the globe, with over 30 countries represented and everyone had an infinite level of wisdom and inspiration to offer.

The grand finale of the 2022 Culinary Nutrition Expert Program, their final assignment, is a 2-hour live class facilitated by our culinary nutrition experts-in-training. This is an opportunity for our students to incorporate all of the skills they’ve learned throughout the semester and share what they know about culinary nutrition with family, friends, or coworkers.

It brings us tremendous joy to hear about how their classes went. Our students often feel:⁠

• exhilarated⁠
• totally in their element⁠
• excited to teach again ⁠
• proud and affirmed by the praise from their guests and the impact of the class ⁠
• surprised at how much culinary nutrition knowledge naturally rolled off their tongues ⁠

Our students are always a little nervous about teaching a cooking class, but every year they are filled with elation and gratification after they totally rock it.

We are so proud to share photos of some of our students, of their smiling faces, delicious food and pride at a job well done!

Catherine Casey, Fort Worth, Texas

“Super happy with my workshop last night. It was a lot of fun! I made it interactive and everyone had a great time!! It pays to just be yourself and let your passion for all you’ve learned show!”

Ronia Restom, Elk Grove, California

“Whew 😅. I finally had my workshop yesterday! What an experience. Thank you CNE for pushing me to do something so out of my comfort zone that I would have never done without this opportunity. I was so nervous but challenged myself through it and so proud of myself for it.”

Lizdabel Morales, San Juan, Puerto Rico

“Success!!! I had my cooking workshop last night. It was a lot of fun. My friends loved all the foods and were super engaged and asking lots of good questions! I am still cleaning the mess in the kitchen 😂.”

Laurie Rossi, Newmarket, Ontario

“What a great feeling doing a workshop on Osteoporosis. I learned so much and it felt empowering to share information on bone health. I fractured my big toe 2 weeks ago when a large cutting board slid off the kitchen cupboard and squarely landed on my toe. Ouch, ouch, ouch! This community kept my spirits up and you all motivated me to keep going throughout the program. I loved the live classes – I will miss this CNE community and the homework.”

Waheema Asghar, Victoria,  British Columbia

“Wow, done and done! It was so motivating to see the learning happening before me. We had two cancellations due to the flu so my participants had the chance to feast. Also, a huge shout out to my baby who slept the entire two hours! Talk about well timed planning! My heart is full, this was so much fun! 🥳”

Ria Maldonado, MacHenry, Illonois

“Had so much fun on my very first Culinary Nutrition Workshop! Well, the guests loved all I prepared and cooked for them and were so amazed and grateful for what they’ve learned about these brain-boosting Foods. They’re even looking forward to my next cooking classes soon. I felt so great and accomplished to be able to share what I’ve learned in this program. My family was so excited, and they were involved with all the prep. My son – food prep, daughter – photographer/videographer, my husband – dishwasher😂!
Thank you so much ACN!❤️”

Rosa Sanchez, Corona, California

“Workshop was a success! I spoke on Pancreatitis and I learned a lot. It was fun seeing them learn new things and get educated on amazing antioxidant rich food! I loved that they had no idea the benefits that food has. They left wanting to eat more real food and with so much energy. This has been an amazing journey, beyond grateful!🥰”

Cam Shackleton, Capetown, South Africa

That was such an amazing experience! Workshop on healing foods for eczema DONE! I had 8 attendees and I knew none of them before hosting the workshop (I “advertised” in the local WhatsApp group for my road as well as the one for our local food club, because I really wanted to share with actual eczema sufferers). The feedback blew me away – I feel so inspired and motivated by the whole experience.”

Lauren Leitner, Los Angeles, California

“And that is a wrap – or should I say sweet potato? I did a virtual class and honed in on the sweet potato: sweet potato soup and a warm lentil and sweet potato salad. I focused on healing foods for eczema and inflammation. It was a blast and grateful for this course for making this just the beginning of what is to come.”

Elizabeth Sanicola, East Quogue, New York

“This was super scary, but so glad this course pushed me to do it! Family friendly meals for ADHD and mental focus. So often elimination diets are the place to begin but this feels super daunting. Instead, I want to try to flip the script to think about what you can ADD to our diet or make easy swaps to create abundant health.

I loved how this night created a place for us to talk about food and health without the distraction of kids and life that often gets in the way. If nothing else, it made me want to create more space for this among friends and our community, as it is much needed and people are much more interested than we might expect! Not sure where I’m taking things yet, but excited for the next steps!”

Meagan Blunt, Coburg, Ontario

“Workshop complete on Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I had a great time presenting and realized it’s not easy to talk and chop at the same time! I’m so grateful for all that I’ve learned during this course and also the support of this wonderful community. It was truly better than I could have ever expected💜. Looking forward to the future!”

Nancy Gribble, Spring Texas

“My workshop was on plant-based foods for menopause and optimal aging. I have to admit it was a humbling experience – trying to cook (which has not been my skillset), talk, remember information and answer questions. Whew!! 

It was also very fun. The Culinary Nutrition Expert Program has reminded me how much I love talking about, teaching and sharing about the power of our foods for optimal health and healing. I’m super excited to be joining the business program so I can hone in on how I plan to do this!”

Abby Gainforth, Toronto, Ontario

“What an incredible journey this program has been! I’m going to miss it, but everything I’ve learned will stay with me forever, and this is just the beginning. Shout out to Meghan Telpner for this incredible program and to my amazing coach Wendy Rose for her guidance and support throughout. I had signed up for the honorary program but switched at the last minute, and I’m so glad I did. I also can’t say enough about the positivity, resources, and support in this group. Congratulations to all! 👏👏🥳❤️”

Michelle Edwards, Memphis, Tennessee 

“And that’s a wrap! Well I didn’t actually make any wraps but we did it you all! We made it – we made lots of things including lots of dirty dishes and we had a lot of fun doing it didn’t we? I’m excited to keep cooking and growing and seeing what this group is up to, and I thank you for your support, encouragement and inspiration along the way! I love seeing how we are all feeding our corners of the world – keep it yummy y’all 💗.”

Shannon Baerg, Victoria, British Columbia

“Wow! The time has gone by fast, and it also feels like the start of the course was a year ago! We have all been such busy bees whirling around our kitchens cooking this, creating that, writing our hearts out! It’s been a journey that’s for sure. I have learned so much and noticed that my confidence in cooking and creating recipes has definitely improved, need to work on not being so nervous in front of others, even my own cycling team! They were so amazing though! I’m proud of myself (I rarely say this), and so glad I stuck with the course!”

From all of us at the Academy of Culinary Nutrition, congratulations to the 2022 Culinary Nutrition Experts!