Culinary Nutrition Symposium

Join us for a full-day symposium at the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), bringing together leading voices in the growing field of culinary nutrition. Experts from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland will share their latest work, offering insights into how cooking, food skills, and nutrition science can be integrated to promote health, well-being, and sustainability.

This international gathering will highlight both global developments and emerging Swiss initiatives in culinary nutrition focusing on research, education, public health, and practice. Whether you are a researcher, educator, policymaker, health professional, or student, this event offers a unique opportunity to engage with pioneering work, forge new connections, and explore future directions for culinary nutrition in Switzerland and beyond.

Stay tuned for program updates and speaker announcements. We look forward to welcoming you to Bern!

This is a not-for-profit event supported by the BFH.

Program

Doors open at 9:00 a.m.

09:20 Welcome & Opening

Focus: Setting the scene: Why culinary nutrition now?

09:30 Culinary Nutrition and Behaviour Change

Roberta Asher / Tammie Jakstas from the University of Newcastle, Australia (online)

Focus: The importance of culinary nutrition for public health; behaviour change mechanisms; introduction to the Cook-Ed™ model

10:15 Culinary Skills, Ultra-Processed Foods and Food as Medicine

Julia Wolfson, from John Hopkins University, USA

Focus: Cooking skills and behaviours; associations with ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and diet quality; the food-as-medicine movement in the US

10:45 Coffee Break
 

11:15 Methodological Gaps in Culinary Nutrition Research

Fiona Lavelle, from Kings College London, UK (online)

Focus: Measurement challenges, reporting standards, and future research priorities

11:45 Current Status of Culinary Nutrition in Switzerland

Christine Brombach, ZHAW

Focus: Mapping culinary nutrition across education, research, and practice in Switzerland

12:15 Current Practice & Lessons Learned

Natalie Lötscher, Swiss Society of Nutrition SGE

Focus: Practical experiences, implementation challenges, and insights from the field

12:45 Lunch & Networking
 

14:00 The Food Project

Fabiana Senkpiel, Bern Academy of the Arts

Focus: Visual presentation of the food project and an artistic recipe collection and the nose-to-tail principle as a sustainability and education tool

14:30 Educational Materials & Visual Tools

Annika Bieri-Hecht, Schulverlag plus AG

Focus: Culinary nutrition in teaching practice: materials, didactic approaches, and visual learning

15:00 Panel Discussion: Global Insights, Swiss Solutions

Global & Swiss speakers

Focus: Addressing Swiss barriers using global learnings; priorities for research, education, and policy

15:30 Coffee Break
 

16:00 BFH CN research Spotlight & Looking Ahead

• EssEntial, Franziska Pfister, Focus: Culinary nutrition for intellectual disability
• E Guete’z Basel, Karin Haas, Focus: Community engagement through food
• Social Kitchen, Fränzi Scheidegger-Balmer, Focus: Sharing knowledge and social inclusion between young people and senior citizens

16:50 Looking Ahead & Closing Remarks

Tamara Bucher, BFH

Focus: Strategic outlook: Building a Swiss culinary nutrition network and next steps

17:00 Apéro & Networking
 

18:00 End of the Symposium