New drugs and vaccines can save lives, but our medical students understand the importance of paying attention to everything we put into our bodies. As the first dedicated teaching kitchen ever implemented at a medical school, Tulane’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine encourages a broader, food-first approach to nutrition. Instead of simply listening to lectures on how to help their patients make healthy choices, our doctors-in-training are living and breathing the curriculum through hands-on culinary practice. By eating better themselves, our students become more confident when talking to patients about their diets. Now, more than 30 other medical schools nationwide have taken note and followed Tulane’s lead.

Beyond medical professionals, our cutting-edge kitchen attracts residents from all over New Orleans, from chefs who cook for a living to those who just love to eat (around here, who doesn’t?) and want to do it in a more health-conscious way. We even offer free cooking classes to families with children enrolled in the New Orleans College Prep Charter School System.

With the right facilities, teachers with a wider perspective on education, open-minded enthusiasts and abundant support, we can make big impacts that others will strive to live up to.