Med students test culinary skills in MCC collaboration

UNMC medical students traveled to Metropolitan Community College in February to learn healthy eating and cooking habits from the chefs at MCC’s Institute for the Culinary Arts.

A group of 14 fourth-year UNMC medical students traded their usual teaching campus for a culinary skills class on Feb. 15 at Metropolitan Community College’s Institute for the Culinary Arts. The objective of the class was to help medical students be able to:

• Demonstrate knife skills safely and expose them to professional culinary industry standards;
• Summarize the Mediterranean diet and describe its impact on health; and
• Demonstrate increased confidence in counseling on nutrition and develop a plan for improved nutrition.

The day included interprofessional teaching about the cardiovascular benefits of the Mediterranean diet from UNMC faculty, followed by the knife skills, culinary technique, and tasting workshops.

The students were trained in proper knife-handling and several classical cuts. The tasting and culinary lessons were driven by discovering the types and uses of a variety of cooking oils and a menu based on the principles of the Mediterranean diet.

Bethany Lueck, who plans on being a general surgeon, said she signed up for the one-day class, which is part of senior seminar, to learn how to eat healthier foods.

“Usually when I cook, it’s just fast meals made in the microwave, but I want to learn new recipes so I can cook more and healthier,” Lueck said.

Alex Hansen, whose interest is ophthalmology, said signing up for the class was a “no-brainer.”

“I’ve been picking up cooking as a hobby throughout medical school,” Hansen said. “I like to feed myself and do it in a good way and a healthy way. I came out (to MCC) to broaden my repertoire about the Mediterranean diet. I hope someday to share my knowledge with my patients.”

The class was taught by Susan Evans, M.D., and Birgit Khandalavala, M.B.B.S., who are in the UNMC Department of Family Medicine, and MCC chef instructors Brian O’Malley and Cathy Curtis.

Dr. Evans worked with two faculty members from the department of psychiatry — Steven Wengel, M.D., and Jonathon Sikorski, Ph.D. — on establishing the healthy cooking class for medical students. They are part of a Teaching Kitchen group that meets monthly with students. Dr. Evans said the Teaching Kitchen group has continued to discuss ways for more students to participate in the class. If there is another class offered, Hansen said he would recommend it to his classmates.

“It’s a really fun day,” he said. “Everyone should do it.”

Chef Curtis was impressed with the level of engagement and care with which the fourth-year students approached the day. She said, “If this behavior is indicative of the type of physicians they will become, I’m very hopeful for the future of medicine.”