For years, medicine and food existed in parallel worlds: one focused on disease, the other on culture and flavor. Dr. Timothy Harlan—a chef turned physician, Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University, and Global Food Institute affiliate faculty member—has spent his career bridging that divide. A pioneer of culinary medicine, he has worked to integrate hands-on nutrition and cooking education into medical training, showing that what we eat is as essential to health as any prescription.
In this Q&A with GFI’s Priya Fielding-Singh, Harlan reflects on how he became involved in culinary medicine, the evidence behind its impact, and what it could mean for the future of healthcare. From teaching medical students to cook nutritious meals to shaping community programs, he explains why food is indeed medicine—and why doctors, nurses, nutritionists, dietitians, and chefs alike must speak the same language of healthful eating.