SAVE THE DATE FOR THE NEXT MENUS OF CHANGE SUMMIT
JUNE 12 - 13, 2024 | HYDE PARK, NY
Context
Food is a lens through which we see the world. It is integral to our traditions, our celebrations, and our cultures.
Our food choices—what we eat and what we serve our families—influences our health and the health of our planet. These choices are linked to both acute and chronic disease prevention and control. These same choices affect the livelihoods of more than one billion people around the world who work each day to produce and serve our food.
Restaurants and other foodservice operations account for nearly half of every dollar that Americans spend on food. Chefs and culinary leaders are assuming ever larger, more pivotal roles in integrating key imperatives of taste, health, the environment, community, business, and economics.
With issues and leaders like these in mind, Menus of Change aims to spark new insights and develop innovative solutions.
Overview
Over ten years ago, leaders at The Culinary Institute of America and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health—Department of Nutrition posed three questions about the future of the culinary profession and the foodservice industry:
What if our most delicious foods—just coincidentally—were, or could be, also healthy and environmentally sustainable?
What if America’s most talented chefs, scientists, and business leaders, along with today’s culinary students, were collectively engaged in driving towards business-friendly solutions to our public health crisis and our most pressing environmental problems like climate change and water scarcity?
What if we could create new approaches to collaboration between nutrition and medical experts, chefs, and environmental scientists to help the business community develop new models of innovation—and long-term business strategies around opportunities for the future of food and foodservice?
Together, the CIA and Harvard have been working to create a long-term, practical vision for the integration of optimal nutrition and public health, environmental stewardship, restoration, and social responsibility concerns within the foodservice sector and beyond. At the core of Menus of Change are our Principles of Healthy, Sustainable Menus. These provide chefs and foodservice leaders with menu and recipe guidance related to health and sustainability, along with business strategies that integrate both environmental and nutrition science imperatives. In its 10+ years since inception, Menus of Change has established a compelling new agenda for the foodservice industry through an annual leadership summit at the CIA’s Hyde Park campus and an ongoing series of tools and guidance for foodservice professionals.
Menus of Change has grown to involve some of the nation’s most influential and well-respected leaders on health, sustainability, and food in guiding its future work:
The Business Leadership Council sets priorities for the initiative and the industry and extends our reach into the industry. It involves more than 25 leading restaurant and foodservice executives, chefs, and investment professionals.
The Scientific and Technical Advisory Council provides the initiative and the industry with an annual review of new and emerging science at the intersection of health, the environment, and the business of food and is chaired by Dr. Walter Willett, professor and past chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Menus of Change is part of an ecosystem of CIA thought leadership initiatives for supporting the best possible future for the overall foodservice industry—including staying ahead of emerging, high-impact trends and issues. The 24 Menus of Change Principles serve as the reference point for this broader ecosystem and provide guidance and direction as issues of health, sustainability, and food ethics arise. The initiative also provides the foundational definitions and contextual language around the concept of “plant-forward” menus.
Additional programs within this ecosystem include:
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is the world’s premier culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in foodservice and hospitality, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers master’s, bachelor’s, and associate degrees with majors in culinary arts, baking & pastry arts, food business management, hospitality management, culinary science, and applied food studies. The college also offers executive education, certificate programs, and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences, leadership initiatives, and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry and its worldwide network of more than 50,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food world. The CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore.
For more information, visit www.ciachef.edu