Feb 28, 2025Event highlights potatoes’ role in culinary medicine
Ten health care professionals took part in Potatoes USA’s culinary medicine immersion at Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine in New Orleans in January.
The event educated participants about the role potatoes can play in nutritious diets for patients from various cultures or low-income backgrounds, according to a news release from Potatoes USA.
“We had holistic conversations about how to elevate the entire produce category with potatoes being part of a traditionally sound meal plan,” RJ Harvey, chef and Potatoes USA director of culinary, said in the release. “We’re doing that so we can educate doctors and health care professionals — who have their patients’ trust — on how to prepare nutritious foods.”
Culinary medicine blends the art of food and cooking with the science of medicine to help people make meal choices that help prevent and treat disease and promote well-being.
Going beyond fresh
The Potatoes USA immersion went beyond recommending fresh potatoes.
“One ‘aha’ moment came from healthcare professionals who didn’t consider products like frozen or dehydrated potatoes as a nutritious option,” Harvey said. “They were really intrigued by ways that patients on a budget could use these options to create a nutritious meal in an hour or less.”
For example, executive sous chef Aurora Hollenbeck showed participants how to reconstitute dehydrated potatoes with flour and Greek yogurt to create potato bagels featuring six ingredients and 10 grams of protein.
The event also shared featured potatoes in global cuisines. A “world tour” of potato dishes highlighted regions spanning Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Latin America and North America.
On the second day of the event, participants sampled their creations.
“They knocked it out of the park,” Harvey said. “One team wanted to theme their dish after New Orleans, so they did a play on shrimp and grits. They made potato grits using fine diced potatoes and nutritional yeast instead of parmesan cheese, and then they breaded oyster mushrooms with potato chips and dehydrated potato flakes.”
The event paid dividends in real time.
“While we were there, one participant had a call with a patient whose labs showed low potassium,” Harvey said. “The physician said he told his patient to enjoy potatoes to get more potassium, and he was really geeked about that.”
