Note: This is the second in a series of blogs about Registered Dietitians to coincide with the American Dietetic Association's Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo. Over the next several days we'll feature interviews with some of the best and brightest dietitians in the field. Check back each day during the conference for a different post highlighting the work of dietitians. See our first post about what a dietitan is here.
Our first interview is with Chef Kyle Shadix, MS, RD. Chef Kyle is one of nine certified chefs in the world who is also a registered dietitian. He is an expert in food science, nutrition science, and culinary arts, a published author, magazine contributor, adjunct university instructor (NYU, Columbia), national media spokesperson, and media go-to-chef/RD. Visit www.chefkyle.com for more information.
What does being an RD mean to you?
“Becoming an RD is a process that qualified me as a nutrition expert, and I am proud to be among other nutritional professionals who also practice evidence-based approach to the evolving science of nutrition, food and all that surrounds it. I feel that I am part of a network of health and wellness specialists who have the insights, knowledge and experience to help Americans eat right, and the confidence I have from the education I received prepared me to fight the ongoing nutrition misinformation struggle.”
What types of projects do you work on?
“Technically, I am considered a freelancer, but I work as a team member with national public relations agencies, foodservice marketing and advertising agencies, and individual corporations with their clients who have culinary nutrition needs. In short, most of my work is centered on the following types of projects:
- Speaking, presenting/media work such as culinary demos live or
- broadcast, interviews
- Consumer and HCP program development
- Marketing research and strategy\brand positioning
- Platform Development/Concept/Recipe/menu development
- Food & nutrition/food safety writing.
- Contributor to cookbooks, national magazines, as well as website content development.
- Media plan development”
What made you choose to go into dietetics?
“I was born with food allergies, but I was not diagnosed until I was 18; I knew that these painful and traumatizing symptoms were related to the foods I was eating, and I intuitively discovered that certain ingredients caused specific reactions. Having become somewhat obsessed with food labels and ingredient statements, I also began to cook at a very early age and because of my fascination with ingredients, I believe that I approached food from a unique standpoint. When it came time to decide on whether I should go to culinary school, study food science, or study nutrition and become an RD, I decided I would do it all. I am proud to say that I was a pioneer in the culinary nutrition world, as there are still very few RDs who are also chefs, and even fewer who are also certified with the chef accrediting body in the culinary world: The American Culinary Federation.”
Do you have any advice to offer to someone who is thinking about becoming a dietitian?
“I love this question, so much so that several years ago my colleague Milton Stokes, MPH, RD, and I wrote a book which is not being published by the American Dietetic Association on how to become an RD; it will debut in 2010, and it includes all the nuts and bolts and many inspirational accounts from movers and shakers in their specialty area, and one thing you will glean from this book is that today’s future RD is often a career-changer, so if you are a returning student who is worried about being surrounded by college-age, younger students, the chances are you will be surrounded by others who are just like you.
If you love food, and want to understand how it is directly related to health, then you should become an RD, but don’t let the science courses scare you. Every student in every class is in the same boat, and we all got through the same courses such as the scary sounding organic chemistry, biochemistry, and statistics. Also, advanced level courses are smaller and more intimate, and for me, the hardest courses were the lower level 101 science courses. I loved the upper-level food chemistry and food microbiology classes more than I ever thought possible; after all, once one understands that pH is the concentration of hydrogen ions from chemistry 101, only then can one understand how pH plays such a pivotal role in the food system. Also, don’t let anyone talk you out of becoming an RD because of salary statistics.
Today’s registered dietitian has more opportunity than ever before, especially since nutrition and health have finally become center stage and a national issue. One more thing- one must remember is to NEVER spell dietitian with a ‘c’ as in dietician even though spell check will not identify this unacceptable spelling; dietitian is always spelled with a ‘t’ in every English speaking country in the world.”
What is your motto?
“Taken from the covers of the straws we always had in grade school, ‘You are what you eat.’ (-: But I also like what Julia Child once said: ‘Life itself is the proper binge.’”
Who is your favorite hero of real life or fiction?
“Julia Child.”
What is your most treasured possession?
“My original, singed, Salvador Dali sculpture we bought in Paris when I got married.”
What is the best meal you’ve ever had?
“The white truffle tasting menu by the famed Chef Alain Ducasse at one of his restaurants in NYC in 2003.”