Mussallem Nutritional Education Center
The Samueli Institute’s Executive Chef Jessica VanRoo conducts patient nutrition and cooking classes in the nutritional education center. This space is also available for student and faculty/staff workshops as well as interprofessional education and community offerings.
- The hoods over each cook station are unique because they provide an unobstructed view from the participants to the instructor.
- Each cooking station has its own audio-visual display so participants can see up close and in detail what the instructor is cooking or preparing. This enhances the learning experience.
- The space has broadcasting capabilities to engage with participants who are unable to attend in person. This will broaden our ability to reach and serve people locally, nationally and even internationally.
Linda Mussallem, community leader and member, Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute Advisory Board, and Mike Mussallem, chairman and chief executive officer, Edwards Lifesciences; member, Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences Advisory Board; and trustee, UCI Foundation, donated to advance educational programs in nutrition for healthcare professionals and trainees, patients and community members. The teaching kitchen on the first floor was named the Mussallem Nutritional Education Center, acknowledging the impact of their support on culinary medicine education, which blends the art of food and cooking with evidence-informed medical practices.
Nutritional Education Center Offerings
The Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute is proud to offer a variety of classes to patients, students, faculty, executives, and community members. Classes are overseen by Samueli Insitute Executive Chef, Jessica VanRoo.
Programs
- Community Classes – Community
- Culinary Medicine Elective – Medical Students
- Culinary Medicine Faculty Training – Faculty
- Group Visits – Patients / Clinical Care
- UCI Culinary Health – UCI Faculty and Staff Program
Requests
The NEC accepts requests for custom programming and classes from both internal UCI units as well as external community groups.
If you or your organization would like to reserve the Mussallem Nutritional Educational Center, please fill out the request form.
Recipes
Explore the Learning Library and blog for recipes
