Examination of how terms such as culinary nutrition, culinary nutrition science, culinary medicine, culinary nutrition professional, culinary nutrition intervention, culinary nutrition activity, and culinary nutrition competency are used in practice, and the creation of consensus definitions will promote the consistent use of these terms across work areas and disciplines. Thirty leading practitioners, academics, and researchers in the fields of food and nutrition across Australia, the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia were approached by investigators via email to submit definitions of key terms using a Qualtrics survey link. Further participants were reached through snowball recruitment. Initial emails were sent in October and November 2021 with subsequent reminders between November 2021 and March 2022. Two researchers undertook content analysis of the text answers for each of the terms and generated definitions for discussion and consensus. Thirty-seven participants commenced the survey and twenty-three submitted one or more definitions. Agreed definitions fell into two categories: practice concepts and practitioners. Further discussion amongst investigators led to the creation of a visual map to demonstrate the interrelationship of terms. Culinary nutrition science underpins, and interprofessional collaboration characterizes practice in this area, however, further work is needed to define competencies and model best practice.

Background: Women of South Asian descent have an increased risk of developing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to Caucasian women. Dietary advice provided by health practitioners to this group has been found to be culturally inappropriate. The aim of this study was to describe the dietary intakes of South Asian women with gestational diabetes and use this information to develop culturally appropriate dietary models for education and support of dietary management. Method: An in-depth diet and lifestyle survey was administered with 13 eligible women. Dietary histories were collected for pre-pregnancy, during pregnancy and post-GDM diagnosis to evaluate changes in dietary intake, diet and health beliefs and traditional foods consumed during pregnancy. Results: The diets of participants did not meet nutrient requirements for pregnancy; specific areas on concern were dietary fibre, calcium, iron, folate and iodine. Vegetarians were particularly at risk with regards to energy and protein intake. Generally dietary intakes of these women with GDM were not consistent with guidelines for management of GDM. Confusion about what they should eat for GDM, health practitioner advice and conflict with cultural expectations about foods to consume during pregnancy was evident. Conclusion: The dietary information collected from these women was used to model sample menus for GDM that were culturally appropriate and consistent with vegetarian and non-vegetarian eating patterns.

Aim The aim of this study was to explore nutrition professionals' perspectives of nutrition graduates' employability skills, and knowledge and skills required in the industry to understand gaps in undergraduate nutrition curriculum. Methods Nutrition professionals (n = 26) across Australia were approached to participate in semi-structured interviews via telephone in 2018. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, data analysed using thematic analysis, and results interpreted and discussed. Results Nine participants across six work environments completed interviews. Common work roles were identified in their diverse areas of practice: nutrition educators, food developers, team members, and business leaders. Nutrition professionals identified that, in addition to evidence-based discipline knowledge, key skills and knowledge needed for their roles were interpersonal communication, including writing and listening. Participants highlighted the need for employability skills to be embedded within curriculum with emphasis on professional skills, business skills and discipline-specific skills in communicating complex science messages to a range of audiences. Networking, and formal and informal work-integrated learning were viewed as important vehicles for developing required skills. Participants expected that universities develop curriculum to address gaps; however, reflection by the academic researchers suggested this should be a joint role. Conclusions Early career planning, professional skill development, work experience and networking opportunities should enhance graduate employability.

Background: Despite global interest in the fast-emerging field of culinary nutrition (CN) and culinary medicine (CM), frameworks and competencies are underdeveloped. Due to the interprofessional nature and diverse research and practice applications, there is a need for a broad consideration of relevant competencies with input from experts across multiple disciplines. Aims: The aims of this study were to explore existing standards from related fields and create a draft framework of competency domains and elements required for CN and CM interprofessional practice and to consult with a panel of international experts in the field as a first step towards achieving consensus. Methods: Nine competency standards relevant to interprofessional CN and CM practice informed the mapping and development of a draft framework. A modified online Nominal Group Technique (NGT) with ten international experts was performed with facilitated discussion around the domains, elements, and guiding statements of the framework. Results: The resulting Interprofessional Framework for Culinary Nutrition and Culinary Medicine Competencies outlines a preliminary framework intended to support future refinement and validation, and acts as a prompt to consider extensive capabilities across an interprofessional team. Conclusions: To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to investigate an interprofessional framework with competency domains and elements for professionals delivering CN and CM. The framework provides an initial expert-informed foundation to support the refinement, external validation, and development of multiple specific competency standards and the evolution of future consensus regarding the delivery of CN and CM, which will be distinct to disciplines, settings, organizations, population groups, and practice areas.

Cookery the Australian Way (CAW), a key culinary textbook, was evaluated to determine whether recipes reflected the prevailing dietary guidelines, specifically to limit saturated fat, added salt, and sugar. Seven-hundred recipes from Editions 3 to 8 were analysed using FoodWorks® 7. Saturated fat, total sugars, and sodium/100 g and per serve was compared using SPSS® (Version 22). A 43% reduction in sodium/100 g in soups and a 50% reduction in sodium/100 g for meats and poultry domain was observed in the 31 years from Editions 3 to 8. A 38% reduction in saturated fat/100 g was observed in the meats and poultry domain across the same time period. Dessert recipes showed a smaller but significant reduction in saturated fat/serve and mixed results for sugar. These observations suggest some modification to reflect dietary guidelines occurred. Cookery texts used in education should incorporate nutrition and reflect dietary guidelines. This series is a positive example for other publishers.