About the
Teaching Kitchen Collaborative (TKC)

Our mission is to build and support a global network dedicated to improving lives through transformative culinary and lifestyle education.

Our members span medical, community, school, and corporate settings, and are united by a shared question: What can we achieve together that we cannot accomplish on our own?

Build a Thriving Community: We bring together current and aspiring culinary medicine professionals to share best practices, exchange ideas, and grow teaching kitchens worldwide.

Champion Research & Collaboration: We connect members with evidence-based insights across public, private, and non-profit sectors, grounding teaching kitchen programs in the latest science.

Expand Global Impact: Through member-led webinars, co-created resources, and innovative tools, we equip our community to expand teaching kitchen programs across the globe.

Advocate for Change: We provide a unified platform for policy action, securing recognition and support for teaching kitchens in healthcare, education, and beyond.

Founded in 2016 by leaders from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health-Department of Nutrition and the Culinary Institute of America, the TKC was formed to unite early advocates of teaching kitchens as a public health intervention. In 2020, the TKC became an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, and today it thrives as a growing network of Organization, Corporate, and Professional Members dedicated to advancing teaching kitchens worldwide.

Teaching kitchens are dynamic, hands-on learning environments where people gain essential life skills. They offer engaging, practical experiences that empower participants with healthy cooking techniques and nutrition along with self-care practices like mindfulness, physical activity, and behavioral health coaching. In both physical and virtual teaching kitchens, people of all backgrounds come together to learn and practice skills that enhance daily life and promote long-term health.

While our teaching kitchen members reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, they are united by a shared belief: building practical skills and fostering behavior change are key to improving both human and planetary health, and to ensuring the success of Food Is Medicine interventions. Teaching kitchens go beyond cooking—they equip people with the tools needed for better self-care and healthier communities, all while advancing sustainability and planetary health.