“Compass Group chefs and Registered Dietitian Nutritionists have seen tremendous value in our participation in Menus of Change each year since the inception. We have been inspired to take action in all of our businesses to create environmentally friendly menu options that promote both personal and planetary well-being in a business savvy way.
It’s a MUST attend conference for teams!”
Menus of Change®: The Business of Healthy, Sustainable, Delicious Food Choices
This ground-breaking initiative from The Culinary Institute of America and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health works to realize a long-term, practical vision integrating optimal nutrition, public health, environmental stewardship and restoration, and social responsibility concerns within the foodservice industry and the culinary profession.
Menus of Change Leadership Summit
Schedule
The 2026 Menus of Change Leadership Summit is a three-day in person program at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. The fourteenth edition of this CIA leadership program featured high-impact, interactive, and educational content along with delicious meals and valuable networking on June 2-4, 2026. To get an idea of what to expect checkout the schedule from our 2025 summit!
presenters
We gather business leaders, scientists, chefs, and other food systems experts to discuss sustainability and personal wellness. This summit will arm you with strategies to accelerate the changes our industry, and planet, need to survive.
webcast
Watch videos of all General Sessions from this year’s exceptional event, June 4th-5th, 2025.
Plant-Forward Kitchen
The Plant-Forward Kitchen includes an evolving set of resources to advance plant-forward culinary strategies.
Resources
2025 Plant-Forward opportunity
This year’s annual research report—compiled by The Culinary Institute of America, Datassential, Food for Climate League, and the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative—uncovers a wide range of actionable insights for foodservice operators. This year’s report also provides a cutting-edge menu concept test. Among the latest findings:
Comfort meets climate: Familiar favorites are the gateway to plant-forward dining.
Millennials and Gen Z diners express the most reservations about ordering plant-based foods at restaurants, yet they are also the most open to being convinced—and flavor, price, and presentation are factors that can flip the script.
Consumers overwhelmingly trust whole foods—nuts, legumes, and grains—over processed plant-based meat alternatives.
In 2025, nearly a quarter of the general population is actively limiting meat in their diet. Women, Boomers, and lower- to medium-income consumers are leading the charge.
Plant-Forward by the numbers
A CIA-Harvard collaboration, this report aggregates health, environmental, consumer, and business data from just before the outbreak of COVID-19, and has all the data you’ll need to make the business case for building future menu directions in your organization around these imperatives.
six lessons from the pandemic
Critical lessons from the COVID-19 health crisis that can inspire how we think about the future of food and opportunities for the restaurant and foodservice industry.
Repurpose with a Purpose
Over a 12-week period, ~40 leaders from nine MCURC institutions came together for a research sprint to exchange learnings and develop best practices for reducing food waste through the power of creative repurposing, all while maintaining a plant-forward focus and supporting the Menus of Change Principles.