“Food as medicine” culinary experience hosted at City of Hope Orange County

City of Hope Orange County and Panda Express bring cancer patients delicious “Food as Medicine” culinary experience

Cooking demonstration and tasting experience give cancer patients a flavor of nourishing, tasty dishes.

City of Hope Orange County, part of one of the largest and most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the country, hosted the inaugural Cherng Family Center for Integrative Oncology cooking demonstration and culinary experience in partnership with Panda Express. 

The goal of the live cooking demonstration was to teach people with cancer the importance of good nutrition and provide them with nutrition advice they could easily incorporate.

“Oftentimes, patients have a feeling that healthy food is food that doesn’t taste good, and we want to overcome that,” said Richard T. Lee, M.D., Cherng Family Director’s Chair, Cherng Family Center for Integrative Oncology at City of Hope. “Healthy eating can be very tasty. We’re showing cancer survivors how food can help support their whole journey.”

The “food-as-medicine” culinary experience was led by Chef Jimmy Wang, Executive Director of Product Innovation at Panda Express, and Preeti Soni, MS, RD, CDCES, integrative oncology dietitian at City of Hope Orange County. 

Good nutrition is particularly important for people with cancer, because cancer and its treatments can change the way patients eat and the way the body uses nutrients.

About 100 guests sampled three nutrient-dense dishes prepared by Chef Wang and his team: quinoa cauliflower brown fried rice, shiitake kale mushroom chicken breast with a ginger scallion sauce and a black sesame mug cake for dessert.

Download the Recipes
Chef Wang understands the importance of good nutrition for people with cancer. He shared his experience caring for his father, who was treated for lung cancer at City of Hope. “During that time, I had to learn a lot about how to balance ingredients to help him through his chemotherapy and help him get his strength back, while not losing flavor and the excitement of eating,” Wang said. 

Soni provided nutrition analysis and answered audience questions. “As an integrative oncology dietitian, I teach my patients how to eat a balanced diet that helps them get through treatment and have less side effects,” said Soni. “It improves the outcome and improves the quality of life for our patients.”

Grateful patient and lung cancer advocate Diane Miller found the event “incredibly beneficial” for patients like her. “When I was first diagnosed, the most difficult thing for me was figuring out what to eat,” said Miller. “As a patient, whole-person care is essential for the cancer journey, and City of Hope provides me with their integrative oncology program. They saved my life, and now they are helping me live my life to the fullest.”

The event was held at City of Hope Orange County Lennar Foundation Cancer Center, the most advanced comprehensive cancer center in Orange County. It came a year after City of Hope received a $100 million gift from Andrew and Peggy Cherng, philanthropists, co-founders and co-CEOs of Panda Express, to create the Cherng Family Center for Integrative Oncology at City of Hope.

Led by Lee, this first-of-its kind, national integrative oncology program brings together Eastern and Western medicine to improve outcomes and quality of life for people with cancer and their families.

An estimated 40% of cancer patients use integrative therapies annually to address disease and chronic issues. However, few health care organizations — let alone cancer centers — provide access to integrative therapies under physician supervision, much less use them holistically in treatment for patients with cancer.

“In advancing integrative oncology, we are continuing the City of Hope legacy of caring for the whole person, not just the disease,” said Edward S. Kim, M.D., M.B.A., Physician-in-Chief, City of Hope Orange County. “We know that the best medicine – and healing – can come in many forms. We’re healing the mind, body and spirit by making evidence-based integrative oncology a routine and interwoven part of optimal cancer care and survivorship.”

This community event also coincides with the Society of Integrative Oncology’s 21st International Conference on Oct. 25-27 in Costa Mesa, hosted by City of Hope