Michael S. Fenster, MD, is amongst the only Interventional Cardiologists, Professional Chefs, and Professors of Culinary Medicine to be found anywhere. His Culinary Medicine program at The University of Montana is likewise amongst the first of its kind in the United States.
Through his Culinary Medicine university courses, speaking events, articles, books, personal outreach, television, and other media appearances, Chef Dr. Mike has become the voice of Culinary Medicine. He continues speaking worldwide as a recognized expert on food and health and is a sought-after keynote speaker. In addition to innumerable media appearances, Chef Dr. Mike, as he is informally known to friends and fans, has hosted his own PBS television show, House Calls with Chef Dr. Mike, and delivered a TEDx talk on Culinary Medicine.
BridgMed was forged from the vision of Chef Dr. Mike after he faced personal health issues that caused him to re-examine the interaction between food and health through the lens of the individual food experience. Building upon a diverse foundation of information theory and evidence-based study, he formulated an approach that, in many respects, was not only novel but often ran counter to much of the conventional food-health advice being dispensed at the time.
Decades later, Dr. Fenster is now acknowledged as one of the world leaders in the area of food and health. The World Health Organization has recognized him through the FIDES program as a food-health influencer and reliable source of data-derived information. The successes of his patients and other participants encourage him to carry on the further development and sharing of the Culinary Medicine method.
Developments like the NOVA food classification system developed at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, based on the level of food processing and studies from around the world utilizing it, help provide direct and incontrovertible evidence in support of the Culinary Medicine approach to food and health. It was in concert with those events that Dr. Fenster developed the Culinary Medicine program – meeting all the rigors and vettings of a university-level university course – at the University of Montana.
Dr. Fenster has spent the last several years determining the best way to bring the power of Culinary Medicine to the people who need it most. Years in development, the result is The Healing Table™, a novel, person-centered, Internet-based software solution that gets to the heart of each of our individual relationships between the food we eat and our health, wellness, longevity, and happiness.
Won’t you join us at The Healing Table? It is a far richer feast than you could ever imagine.
Chef Seth received his formal culinary training at The French Culinary Institute in NYC, where he completed a prestigious apprenticeship in molecular gastronomy. After graduating, Chef Seth refined his skills at the Jean Georges Restaurant ABC Kitchen located in Union Square and then at the famed Daniel Humm restaurant, three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, named the best restaurant in the world by San Pellegrino’s 50 Best List 2017.
Chef Seth is a Certified Personal Chef, Nutritionist, Sommelier, and Food Safety Expert. After finding his niche in the luxury senior living sector of the food service industry, he began applying his honed skillset to elevate the senior living dining experience. By applying the principles of Culinary Medicine, Chef Seth is not only able to design and execute an eclectic menu and modify recipes but also provide nutritionally dense, seasonal, and locally grown foods to his clients, promoting an overall state of physical and mental wellness for his residents and clients.
April currently serves as the Assistant Director for The Marilyn Magaram Center for Food Science, Nutrition, and Dietetics at The California State University at Northridge. A lifelong learner and educator, April has played a critical role in helping BridgMed develop the pathways to unlocking the presence of ultra-processed in the average American's diet.
Cheyenne currently serves as the Microsoft Teams Help Desk expert resource. The Healing Table currently utilizes an MS Teams platform. She is there to welcome everyone, orient them to the environment, answer questions, and troubleshoot any technical challenges so that each participant can begin their personal Culinary Medicine journey as trouble free as possible.
Shely is a Registered Dietitian passionate about educating others on nutrition and health. She holds her Master's in Human Nutrition from California State University, Northridge (CSUN) and her Bachelors in Nutrition from New York University, and completed her Dietetic Internship at CSUN with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and WIC. She most recently completed an MBA in Healthcare Innovation. Shely has experience in clinical nutrition, practicing Medical Nutrition Therapy for hospitalized patients from newborns to the elderly. Shely has been teaching the Well-Nourished Nutrition Series through the MMC for cancer patients with Tower Cancer Research where she teaches all about nutrition in relation to cancer.
Specialties: Oncology, Diabetes, Lactation, Sports, Cultural Competency, Plant-based Nutrition
Trained as a General/trauma surgeon with experience in the public and private sectors, Dr. Wetherill has created robotics, bariatric and breast programs. Shifting to the payer side, he has led initiatives in utilization management, payment integrity and pharmacy. Serving as the principal designer, he partnered with a Silicon Valley start-up to bring HCSC its first AI driven intake platform into operation. As chair of the Medical Policy Committee serving 5 BCBS plans and creator of the Vendor Clinical Validation Committee, he oversees the scientific evaluation of everything from drugs to digital interventions. Experience has provided the opportunity to see wonderful ideas poorly executed and worthless ideas turned into gold. Success in healthcare is much greater with a knowledgeable guide.
Not just an idea person, he founded a rock climbing gym, performed and produced stand-up comedy and instructed effective story-telling workshops around the country.
Dr Robert Ellis, DO, PhD, is a board-certified medical oncologist, integrative medicine physician and lifestyle medicine expert. In addition, he is trained and certified in plant based nutrition and cooking as well as a certified culinary medicine specialist through the American College of Culinary Medicine. Dr Ellis has earned a doctorate in immunology from the Rosalind Franklin University of Health and Sciences and his degree in osteopathy from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.
He has practiced clinical oncology for 30 years in a variety of practice settings; including the military, fee for service private practice, tertiary cancer care centers and HMOs. He has been a member of the teaching faculty of several medical schools and post-graduate medical education programs. He established one of the first lifestyle medicine curriculums at a medical school at the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific-Northwest.
He currently is the CEO and founder of Integrative Cancer care consultation services which specializes in helping patients understand and develop their innate healing capabilities.
Dr Ellis is a former US Army officer leaving the service after 26 years at the rank of Colonel in 2001.
He lives with his wife Nancy in the Pacific Northwest. He spends his free time with his four children and 8 grandchildren.
At BridgMed.health, we focus on deliciousness. No dietary approach, no matter the data, can succeed if no one is willing to eat the food. The simple joy of scrumptious food is hard-wired into our DNA. The Chef at every Healing Table is there to make sure that ingredient of tasteful is always included
The weight of emerging scientific evidence points to the ultra-processing of our food, as opposed to simple macronutrient composition, as the root cause of the inflammation driving the epidemic of chronic disabilities and diseases. This is why at BridgMed we focus on the total impact of the food on your plate, not just the ingredient list.
Too often, there are obstacles we may not even be aware of preventing us from achieving harmony in our own food-health relationship. That is why at The Healing Table, we work individually with each participant through each food goal to identify, address, and overcome those impediments preventing our success, health, and happiness.
Delicious. Nutritious.
Healing. Healthful.
Joy.
Those are the qualities and characteristics of real food that have supported humanity since its birth. Today the masses settle for convenient, cheap, easy, and deadly.
No more.
We reclaim our authentic food birthright at The Healing Table™.
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