Cooking Compassion
Fueling Minds, Feeding Hearts
by Warren Ford and Linda Gillis

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Make food your happy place. This cookbook was designed for everyone, from the new cook to the seasoned chef. Readers will find over 80 culturally rich recipes to tantalize taste buds. “Cooking Compassion” spotlights the role of eating for resilient mental health. With this collaboration between George Brown College Centre (GBC) for Hospitality and Culinary Arts; Stella’s Place, a mental health treatment centre for young adults; and Ontario College of Arts and Design University in Toronto, Canada, readers will learn about the whole diet approach and which nutrients are the best for brain health supported by credible sources. The illustrations throughout the cookbook are meant to relax readers and provide a site for meditation as well as show off artistic flare. Part 1 features recipes that gradually increase in difficulty over 12 weeks and can serve as the foundation for a community cooking class for young adults learning to cook. It is not necessary to go in order if readers are feeling overwhelmed. Tips are provided for cooking when fatigued, unmotivated or on a tight budget. Part 2 reveals the secrets of some of the top chefs and their recipes from GBC Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts, offering more complex recipes. Readers should feel comfortable with recipes from Part 1 before moving on to Part 2. Funds from the sale of this cookbook will be used to support the treatment of mental health challenges, such as depression and anxiety, for young adults who attend Stella’s Place.

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Chef Warren Ford is a Culinary and Hospitality professional committed to food, the enjoyment of food and the educational environment. His 30 years plus of culinary experience has evolved into a passion for training, mentoring and helping George Brown College students achieve success in the food industry. For decades, many culinary professionals have struggled with the challenges and pressures of kitchen life, and Chef Ford is no exception. The drive to be your best with every plate and every morsel of food cooked can take its toll on one’s personality, relationships and life balance. But, at the same time cooking can be a peaceful and relaxing moment to reset the mind and slow down to enjoy and savour food. Dr. Linda Gillis is a registered dietitian who worked with youth at McMaster Children’s Hospital for twenty years before obtaining her PhD and coming to George Brown College Chef School. While treating young people who had diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, hypertension, etc., she noticed many suffered from mental health challenges. Her interest was heightened on how nutrition could play a role in their moods. Her current research encompasses how culinary nutrition education can help ameliorate the symptoms of depression and/or anxiety when combined with traditional treatment modalities. As a nutrition professor at the Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts, she educates students, not only on the health benefits of eating wholesome foods, but on how sweet delicacies can be incorporated into a healthy diet when we are truly mindful of that indulgence. Chef Ford and Dr. Gillis hope with these recipes, readers will take part in the enjoyment and nutritional value of cooking, as well as the journey that can lead to maintaining a healthy diet as well as mental health.

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Contributors

Author

Warren Ford

Author

Linda Gillis