In the skilled hands of Jessica VanRoo (“Chef Jess”), food becomes medicine that melts in your mouth.

A National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Certified Culinary Medicine Professional, and board member of the American College of Culinary Medicine, VanRoo is at the forefront of the food-as-medicine movement.

With two decades of experience and a culinary management degree from the Art Institute of Orange County, VanRoo is passionate about teaching people how to prepare food that tastes great while supporting health. As executive chef of the UCI Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute’s Mussallem Nutritional Education Center, she develops programs that integrate culinary medicine, with menus rich in produce influenced by her unique upbringing.

Under her leadership, professional chefs, registered dietitians, and physicians collaborate to connect food and health in programs for medical professionals, patients, and community organizations. She also designed the eight-station teaching kitchen to support group medical visits and culinary medicine research.

VanRoo developed UCI’s first culinary medicine curriculum for medical students while serving as director of Culinary Recreation and Experiential Programs, reflecting her passion for teaching through food. She also launched Conversation Kitchen, a program exploring the role of food in mediating conflict and communicating values and Cooking with the Professor, where faculty shared culturally significant recipes with students.

Her diverse culinary career includes roles as assistant culinary director for Sur la Table, consultant for The Gourmet Child, corporate executive chef for Rimrock Capital Management, and entrepreneur.

Committed to expanding the culinary medicine movement, VanRoo contributes to the Culinary Medicine Advisory Board and is active in the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative, a global network of teaching kitchens affiliated with leading medical institutions.

Guided by the wisdom of Hippocrates:

“Let food be thy medicine, and let medicine be thy food.”