Emily Stuart is an HCPC-registered dietitian with over a decade of experience in nutrition and the food industry, and the British Academy of Culinary Nutrition are delighted to have her as a tutor.
Emily’s career began with a college qualification as a chef followed by cooking in various kitchens in Britain and Australia. While she enjoyed working as a chef and found great joy in the creativity of coming up with recipes and making great food, her academic mind was curious, and she wanted to know more. Emily has always been an intellectual thinker and although she wanted to expand her food knowledge, it wasn’t necessarily a need to improve how she cooks or a desire to create more healthy recipes, she simply has an innate desire to learn.
From cooking to feeding
Her next move was to study nutrition and dietetics which at the time was funded by the NHS. This involved 4 years of study including work placements, which for Emily, sealed the deal. She loved it. The placements were in clinical settings, which meant she was supporting the nutrition of people in intensive care or with various health issues like diabetes. Some of the more extreme cases she dealt with included treating elderly people living with malnutrition. The 4 years was very scientific, so she worked with supplements and artificial feeding for chronically ill people. This was a huge learning curve for Emily and would cement her commitment to nutrition and dietetics.
Today Emily works in food manufacturing where food is generated for vulnerable people with various health needs or deficits. After 11 years as a dietitian, she is an expert in the field and is proud to pass on her wealth of knowledge.
The joy of moderation
Over the years Emily’s nutritional education has changed her cooking somewhat but as a foodie, Emily is aware that some dishes just taste better with butter. The key, however, is moderation. Nutrition needs to be balanced with healthy living, taking care of yourself in your mind, body and going to the doctor from time to time. Emily is acutely aware of societal and social pressures and because we don’t all have the luxury of choosing expensive food, the occasional tin of beans or processed pasta sauce is not the end of the world.
But occasional is the important word here, and the goal is balance. Emily believes that primarily, many of us need to change our mindset. We crave fast food, not because we are flawed creatures, but because it is the evolution of humankind. Fast food may be delicious to some people, but it’s just a survival instinct to crave fat and fill up. Emily says not to be mad at it, just try not to give in to all that fried food on a regular basis.
We are also conditioned to see certain foods as a treat, and we look at food as good or bad food. But this is not a healthy perception and between historic norms and conflicting information on the internet, Emily’s advice to people is to know your sources. People may promote various eating plans and lifestyles, but they tend to be selling something that is not necessarily suitable for the individual.
Myth busting
It is for this reason, as well as many other inaccuracies that are out in the world, that Emily teaches myth busting. She has received many questions from curious students that have all been linked to popular myths about things like diabetes for example, so it is the mistruths that she will dispel. In an ideal world Emily would “educate just to educate rather than educate with a commercial agenda”. The fact that every new diet or exercise trend tends to involve someone selling something, if she could remove that, she would.
As a purist and someone with a passion for good health, Emily is on a quest to improve the overall quality of education. Her only true motivation is to simply teach students about nutrition for the greater good and for no other reason. It is up to the students to choose what to do for themselves. When asked what kind of career post-grads can move into, the list was endless. They may choose a career as a chef but not necessarily in a sweaty kitchen; there is private catering, healthcare, care homes, schools, food manufacturing, healthcare, science, and many, many more.
Philosophy
The one takeaway Emily wants for her students, above anything else though, is to learn that “nutrition matters” - and that they don’t need to be an expert to help others, people can simply share their learnings.
Emily hopes that with her teaching she can impart her belief that “knowing about health and nutrition is a privilege and can be very empowering as it enables people to take elements of their health into their own hands”.
Her philosophy on nutrition and teaching is simple “do not over complicate things”. She believes that there is in fact “no such thing as a perfect diet” and doesn’t want anyone to lose the pure joy of cooking and of food. Her intention is to teach people what they can “add to their diet, not take away”.
With significant experience in health writing, conducting training and as a member of the British Dietetic Association (BDA) as well as a committee member of the BDA Food Services Specialist Group, the students at the Academy of Culinary Nutrition can rest assured, they have a healthy and delicious future ahead.