Docs in the Kitchen

The University of Arizona and The Hacienda at the River Team to Launch “Docs in the Kitchen” Healthy Cooking Demonstration Program

Get Cooking with 3 Leading U of A Doctors, One of Food Network Fame and The Hacienda Executive Chef, David Sullivan

“Docs in the Kitchen” Public Benefit Event

This Saturday, June 10th 4 to 6PM at the Hacienda at the River, Tucson

Doctors are always telling us to eat better. At the ‘Docs in the Kitchen Event’, three leading UArizona physicians and an executive chef show us how to translate doctor’s orders into healthy, tasty meals.

This Saturday, June 10th, Drs. Juanita Merchant, Mindy Fain and David Lieberman, along with the Hacienda at the River’s executive chef David Sullivan, will demonstrate how to prepare healthy, gluten-free meals that promote gut health. Attendees also will learn about food as therapy and nutritional strategies that can help them thrive. After the demonstration, attendees will be treated to a healthy – and delicious – buffet dinner. They also will receive the recipes of the evening’s meals so they can recreate them at home.

The event is the brainchild of Dr. Juanita Merchant, Chief of the Gastroenterology & Hepatology division in the UArizona College of Medicine. “I wanted to come up with a way to inform patients nutritionally and give them access to physicians to talk about diet and why it’s important,” she said. Merchant added that interactive events like this help patients embrace healthy eating. “We cook with our patients,” she said. “It brings people’s anxiety level down. They get to taste the food and understand why it’s important.”

The doctors joining Dr. Merchant each work in the fields of Internal medicine and geriatrics. Dr. Mindy Fain is the Chief of UArizona’s General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, as well as the co-director of the UArizona Center on Aging. Dr. David Lieberman is an assistant professor of Geriatrics and a general internist, as well as a cookbook author. Prior to attending medical school, Lieberman hosted the Food Network series ‘Good Deal with Dave Lieberman.’

The Hacienda at the River’s executive chef David Sullivan is excited about the event. “From a cook’s perspective, there is a tradition of healing through diet,” said Chef Sullivan. “Cuisine as a healing element goes back thousands of years.” As Dr. Merchant points out, a healthy diet can lower one’s risk for heart disease and stroke and help control other medical conditions related to the GI tract such as acid reflux (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, and ulcerative colitis.

At the event, Chef Sullivan and the doctors will demonstrate how to prepare healthy ratatouille, a traditional French dish of stewed vegetables like eggplant, tomatoes, bell pepper and zucchini. The buffet following the cooking demonstration will feature several variations of ratatouille in different culinary styles such as East Indian and North African. Attendees will receive the recipes after the event so they can re-create the tasty and healthy meals at home. Lisa Terry-Jones, Membership Director at Watermark Retirement Communities’ The Hacienda at the River, said this event will be the first in a quarterly series of “Docs in the Kitchen” public benefit demonstrations to be held at the community.

The June 10th event takes place at 4-to-6 p.m. at the Hacienda at the River, 2720 E River Road. Seating is limited to 30 and tickets are required for admission. Tickets are $100, $70 of which qualifies as a tax-deductible donation to the University of Arizona Foundation. To RSVP, call (520) 485-1060