Immersive experiences for registered dietitians and friends, dietetic interns and students surrounding food and the environment in Ireland, the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle in Italy, and the unique food culture and campaigns promoting healthy eating habits in Portugal.
Portugal May 28 – June 5, 2023
Join us in beautiful ocean side Porto, Portugal, for an 8-day immersive navigation of the unique food culture of Portugal. Registered dietitians can earn 33 hours of continuing professional education.
Explore: Porto’s markets and sardine, cheese, and olive oil producers.
Experience: The natural landscapes in the Douro Valley, the first demarcated wine region in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Discover: Interdisciplinary research and community dialogue behind the campaigns aimed at promoting healthy eating habits among the Portuguese people.
Ireland May 16 – 26, 2023
Join us in Cork, Ireland’s culinary capital, for a 10-day immersive study of Ireland’s rich agriculture and related food history and culture. Registered dietitians can earn 32 hours of continuing professional education.
Explore
Traditional and modern culinary practices and ingredients and the influence and implications of history and culture on cuisine in Ireland.
Experience
Excursions into County Cork to visit local food markets, artisan food producers, seaweed foragers, organic food growers and an internationally-acclaimed cookery school.
Discover
The impact of food production on the environment and cultural influences on food choices, through engaging discussions with University College Cork faculty.
Italy June 6 – 16, 2023
Join us in Florence, Italy for a 10-day immersive study of the essential elements of the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. Registered dietitians can earn 32 hours of continuing professional education.
Explore
The everyday opportunities to engage in the health-promoting Mediterranean diet and lifestyle practices.
Experience
Excursions to local food markets and into the Tuscan region to visit artisan food and wine producers. Chef-led cooking classes focused on Mediterranean diet foods.
Discover
The keys to living the Mediterranean diet through discussions with University of Florence researchers and the cultural influences on food choices, through engaging demonstrations and conversations with local chefs and wine experts.
MS, RDN, LD
Ann Cohen and Le Greta Hudson are Registered Dietitian Nutritionists who formed their partnership over 15 years ago while waiting at the Denver airport on their way home from FNCE. Ann, an innovative nutrition educator passionate about experiential learning, is the planner and organizer. Le Greta, an award-winning dietetics educator and past Commissioner for the Commission on Dietetic Registration, is the promoter and connector. Together they have developed and led 35 immersion programs for more than 600 nutrition professionals and students interested in learning about food, culture and history in Ireland and about the food and culture of the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle in Italy. Their extensive networks and contacts in these countries have resulted in engaging learning experiences from program arrival to departure.
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Vanessa Infante joined the foodcultureology team in 2021. She works in public health nutrition and has experience leading study abroad in Costa Rica. Vanessa brings her deep family connections to the food and culture of Portugal and Spain to help develop foodcultureology programs for 2023 and 2024.