Frederick Community College (FCC) has significantly contributed to the growing number of Certified Culinary Medicine Professionals (CCMPs) in the country. Out of only 24 foodservice professionals in the United States who have earned this prestigious certification, an impressive 15 completed the program through the Hospitality, Culinary & Tourism Institute (HCTI) at FCC. 
 
The American College of Culinary Medicine developed the Health meets Food curriculum and certifies all CCMPs. FCC’s HCTI is the first culinary school in the country to offer the program and has run two cohorts of Health meets Food since first introducing it in spring 2023.
 
Foodservice professionals who carry the CCMP designation have undergone extensive training in culinary medicine including over 60 contact hours, a capstone project, and a rigorous certification exam. FCC’s latest cohort had 11 students, all of whom sat for and passed the exam and earned their CCMP certification. 
 
CCMP certification enables foodservice professionals to enhance their knowledge, confidence, and skills by learning how to evaluate and apply the most rigorous current research to menu and recipe development, enhance the quality of meals prepared, and improve the diet quality, especially targeting diet-related chronic disease.
 
Students who completed the Health meets Food program included HCTI current students and graduates, local restaurant chefs, private chefs, culinary school educators, registered dieticians, nutritionists, and other foodservice and health professionals. 
 
“To allow maximum flexibility and accessibility, we offer this innovative program both in-person and virtually for food service professionals,” said HCTI Manager Elizabeth DeRose. Virtual students are in the same lecture as in-person students via Zoom and cook at home while in-person students cook in the HCTI teaching kitchen.
 
FCC will offer the Health meets Food course again in summer 2025. The program will be expanded to offer Health meets Food classes to the general public.
 
For more information, visit www.frederick.edu/hcti. 
 
For more information about Culinary Medicine, visit https://culinarymedicine.org.