Culinary Nutrition Jobs: Where Could I Work?
Written by Kristen Rohrer, Culinary Institute of Virginia Faculty
Current CDC statistics show that nearly one million Americans die annually from the top five preventable diseases, yet it has been established that half or more of these deaths may have been prevented all together with the proper nutrition and lifestyle interventions. Americans today are in desperate need of not only someone who can guide them back to health through nutrition, but also prepare food to focus on personalized goals--instead of a “one-size-fits-all” mentality.
People are starting to connect the dots between health and nutrition regardless of genetic predispositions, but they cannot do it without a professional that can steer them in the right direction. Enter the culinary nutritionist, who upon passing the certified dietary manager exam, can work in practically any facility across the country.
Diverse Delicious & Nutritious Opportunities
Have you noticed a recent shift in the world today, from restaurants, schools, hotels, and even to fast food places? Americans are currently more health conscious than ever before and menus are becoming more reflective of this change. Yet many people still fall short of a healthy diet because of busy lifestyles, obligations, and financial struggles. For these reasons, the culinary nutritionist can excel in many different fields because of their unique ability to bridge the gap between mere recommendations and actual implementations that utilize professional culinary techniques coupled with top-notch evidence-based nutrition.
With this title, you can collaborate one-on-one with a dietitian in a clinical setting, or on your own while managing an entire kitchen. Depending on your interests, you may want to make nutritional changes as the culinary director of a facility that needs help with accommodating specialty diets, or maybe help people overcome their hectic lifestyles as a personal chef. From in-home support, to clinical and institutional fields, the possibilities for a culinary nutritionist are endless.
Hot Jobs in Culinary Nutrition
As more facilities are making the shift from the standard American diet to delivering high-quality, nutritious items, promoting food traceability, and accommodating specialty diets for allergies or disease management, career for the culinary nutritionist may explode across a vast number of professions. You could be:
- Becoming a Personal chef
- Managing kitchens for assisted living facilities
- School-based nutritional consulting
- Community-based cooking and nutritional opportunities
- Culinary nutrition education/instruction
- Culinary director for nutrition in rehabilitation facilities
- Working directly with dietitians at any healthcare institution
- Teaming with specialty facilities for chronic disease modulation
- Providing expertise with curriculum design for future and current culinary nutrition courses
Businesses are Hungry for Field Expertise
The best thing about culinary nutrition is that, unlike other concentrations, it provides you with the flexibility to shine across professions. It is such a versatile field, and with a formal education, you could find work in any health-related business or agency looking for the distinctive know-how that only a culinary nutritionist can offer.
From health departments to clinics and everything in between, the concrete, scientifically-sound, and notably skilled culinary nutritionist actively functions as the authority on delivering delicious and nutritious sustenance to a public that is in desperate need of support.
A Unique Skillset
The culinary nutritionist should graduate fully equipped to handle everything from personalized menu planning when it comes to working as a personal chef or care manager, to implementing managerial skills in a kitchen environment with the nutritional backbone, to create delightfully appealing dishes in ways that can restore health to potential clients.
With the ability to alter meals at the drop of the hat, a culinary nutritionist can make healthy meals readily available based on individual needs, which is the definition of precision nutrition.
Are you interested in learning more about the amazing and adaptive new field of culinary nutrition? If you warn to earn an Associate of Applied Science in Culinary Arts and Applied Nutrition, consider ECPI University’s Culinary Institute of Virginia. To learn more, connect with a helpful admissions counselor today. You may have just what it takes to make a difference today for a healthier tomorrow!
It could be the Best Decision You Ever Make!
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