Cooking for the Climate with Dr Hayley Tait
Hayley is delighted to be on the PBHP UK team to develop a new culinary medicine course, ‘’Cooking for the Climate’’, which encompasses the planetary impact as well as all species health. Cooking for the Climate will be accessible as a course on PBHP UK website, is running as an adventurous special study module in University Medical Schools and has one-off events incorporating live interactive feature cook-alongs, always highlighting the importance of how what we chose to eat affects all of us.







With sponsorship from PBHP UK and Samson Security, Hayley has established a Community Plant Based Cook School “Vinny’s Kitchen” based in Liverpool. Vinny’s Kitchen aims to teach individuals and families how to cook delicious plant-based meals, which can be distributed to our homeless or to other vulnerable groups of our society. Thanks to funding from PBHP UK this runs as a weekly free event.
Find out more on Hayley’s instagram: @health_on_the_hob
University Course
The Cooking for the Climate (C4C) Course is offered to universities as an Student Selected Unit during medical student training. It is currently teaching at Exeter and Southampton Medical Schools.
It will be offered to all health care professionals as a full day course, with access to teaching videos.
Course Outline:
Cooking for the Climate is a culinary medicine adventure introducing the principles and practical skills of a sustainable plant-based diet for personal and planetary health.
Unhealthy diets are a leading cause of chronic illness, contributing to 20% of deaths. In addition, our food system is a leading contributor to the climate and ecological crises. A transition to a healthy plant-based diet in line with the Eat-Lancet Planetary Health Plate has the potential to not only reduce the burden of chronic illness but also keep our food system within planetary boundaries.
The course will discuss the principles of a sustainable plant-based diet and it’s potential to positively impact global and personal health. The course will discuss common controversies and concerns, whilst supporting participants to learn how to cook simple, affordable, accessible and delicious food. This will provide C4C students with the confidence to incorporate a plant-based diet into their personal and clinical practice.

Course Aims:
To understand the benefits of a sustainable plant-based diet for human and planetary health.
To learn how to bring sustainable diets into clinical practice
Discuss the main food groups with examples and culinary use and relate these to planetary impact.
Take part in Cook-a-longs. All students will cook-along in fun and interactive way, with informal discussion and revision of the components of healthy and sustainable diet.
Discussions on the scientific evidence and controversies relating to plant-based diets and impact on global health.
To compose a complete and healthy meal plan that’s inclusive and culturally appropriate.
To learn the culinary skills to cook a day’s whole food plant-based meals.
Here’s some of the feedback the course has received
