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A bold new initiative exploring the future of food is underway. In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and Stanford University will convene chefs, healthcare professionals, and food service leaders this May at Copia in Napa Valley—bringing the kitchen and the clinic into the same conversation.
For decades, the CIA has led some of the most influential gatherings in the culinary world. I’ve had the privilege of learning from many of these extraordinary convenings. Its flagship event, the Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival (WOF), has long explored how global traditions shape American menus—pushing dialogue around culture, sustainability, and evolving consumer tastes. Now, that conversation will expand beyond flavor to function with Food is Life, Food is Health, where chefs and clinicians will examine food as a powerful driver of human well-being.
What Happened at WOF 2025?
Celebrating its 27th year, Worlds of Flavor at Copia delivered its signature mix of thought leadership and sensory immersion—general sessions, live-fire demos, tastings, and global perspectives. 2025 traced how historic foodways—from Mediterranean roots to modern global interpretations—continue to shape American dining and large-scale food service.
Sessions like Flavors in Translation: Navigating Old Worlds, New Ideas explored how chefs honor tradition while adapting to contemporary palates and markets. Culinary voices from around the world brought both authenticity and innovation to the table.
One standout: Honoré Farm and Mill in Petaluma, a nonprofit cultivating heirloom grains (Sonora, Red Fife, Hollis, and Seashore Black Rye) through regenerative organic practices. Once common in Northern California, grain farming has largely disappeared. Honoré volunteers can learn cultivation, revive lost planting techniques, and help harvest California-grown grain. The farm partners with the CIA on planting ancient grains at the Greystone campus in St. Helena. Learn more and purchase delicious freshly stone-ground flours, breads, and sourdough starters at the farm or online.
Another highlight we learned about—shio koji, a Japanese fermented seasoning that adds depth and sweetness to meats, fish, and vegetables. It’s quite amazing stuff! In one demo, a tomato sauce made with and without shio koji showed a striking difference in flavor. Shio koji makes food taste better because it is a “living” marinade with active enzymes that chemically transform ingredients by releasing glutamic acids and increasing umami. Unlike a standard salt rub, shio koji acts as a catalyst, breaking down large, tasteless molecules into smaller, flavor-packed ones. Try it yourself—it’s available locally at Bianchini’s and from Aedan Fermented Foods at the Ferry Building farmers market the the City.
Webcasts from WOF 2025 remain available, including Eat the World: From Mediterranean Gastronomy to American Menus, The Heart of the Silk Road, and The Ancient Roots of Umami.
Food is Life, Food is Health – May 4–6, 2026
If World of Flavor asks where flavor comes from, the CIA’s next convening asks a more urgent question: what can food do for human health?
As the U.S. spends trillions on healthcare while diet-related disease rises, chefs are being called into a new role—moving from taste makers to agents of change. What happens when cooking becomes preventative care at scale? Chefs will need to lead teaching kitchens, empower people with practical skills, collaborate with clinicians on food prescriptions, reshape hospital menus, and help shift the focus from reactive treatment to proactive prevention. Enter Food is Life, Food is Health.
We asked Kristen Rasmussen, MS, RDN, assistant director of health and sustainability programs at the CIA, about the conference’s vision:
What makes this summit different from a traditional food—or medical—conference?
“Most food conferences focus on cuisine, hospitality, or agriculture, while medical conferences center on clinical research and treatment. This summit operates between those worlds, bringing chefs, physicians, nutrition scientists, food system leaders, and policymakers into the same conversation.
That means discussing medically tailored meals, plant-forward diets, culinary training in healthcare, and food systems’ role in disease prevention—all in one forum.”
Where can chefs succeed where healthcare systems struggle?
“Chefs influence daily behavior. Healthcare typically engages people during illness, while chefs shape how people eat every day.
They translate nutrition science into meals that are delicious, culturally relevant, and accessible—turning healthy eating into sustainable behavior, not a prescription.”
What gives you hope right now?
“There’s growing recognition that food is fundamental to health. Governments, health systems, and research institutions are investing in ‘Food is Medicine’ approaches that integrate nutrition into care.
At the same time, chefs and food innovators are advancing plant-forward cuisine, sustainable sourcing, and community programs. The convergence of science, policy, and culinary innovation suggests real systemic change is possible.”
If you’re a healthcare or food service professional, explore the event schedule and continuing medical education opportunities. The Food Party! will report live on Instagram and follow up with a summer report, so please join us. If May is too soon, consider Menus of Change at the CIA’s Hyde Park campus, June 2–4.
Not in the field? You still have options. Attend Health Matters (Saturday, May 16) at Stanford—an all-day event highlighting efforts to bridge the culinary-healthcare gap. Or head to wine country and explore the CIA’s spring cooking classes.
