Peggy Policastro (GSNB’93,’15) and Ian Keith share culinary and nutritional insight while dishing up healthy recipes.
What do you get when you mix healthy recipes, an esteemed chef, a nutrition expert, and eager participants? You get a recipe for An Evening of Culinary Health and Wellness at the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health. On October 27, more than 35 members of the Rutgers community joined Rutgers Dining Services chef manager Ian Keith, and nutritionist Peggy Policastro for a collaborative event, which fused delicious dishes with healthy ingredients.
Executive dean Bob Goodman addresses participants at culinary health and wellness event.
Guests not only learned how to cook nutritious recipes, they also learned what made these recipes healthy. The participants watched Chef Keith demonstrate a three course meal featuring local and sustainable ingredients, many directly from the sustainable farm in Rutgers Gardens. The menu included: an appetizer of Pan Seared Red Snapper over a Black Rice Salad with Avocado and Grapefruit, an entrée of Turkey Confit with Beet and Bean Cakes finished with a Yogurt Sauce, and a dessert of Poached Seckel Pears with Mascarpone and Pecan Nut Puree. Alongside Chef Keith was Policastro, who gave insight into why the ingredients and/or cooking methods were beneficial for health and wellness. In between each demonstration, the participants were served the course for tasting, along with a perfectly paired wine from Hopewell Valley Vineyards, a New Jersey winery.
Each participant went home with full bellies, greater nutrition knowledge, and copies of the recipe to recreate each dish at home.
