Chef Madhu Gadia (left) was the featured speaker for the annual Joan Christy Lecture on Food and Culture.
Renowned Chef Madhu Gadia says her passions are cooking and nutrition, and the way she shares her fondness for cooking and nutrition is through teaching.
In late October, students from the Department of Nutrition and Food Studies in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics were able to witness Gadia’s enthusiasm firsthand and benefit from her teaching lessons as she was the featured speaker for the Joan Christy Lecture Series on Food and Culture.
The lecture series is made possible by the Christy Food and Culture Fund, which was established in 2005 through the generosity of Syracuse University nutrition alumna Joan Christy ’78, G’81 to provide support for a lecture series in the nutrition program. The annual event involves a discussion of the cultural foodways and a demonstration and tasting of select dishes from the cultural cuisine.
“These lecture series give students the opportunity to learn more outside the classroom and get exposed to new cultures and cuisines,” says nutrition science master’s student Kirsten Gunderson ’23. “I try to attend at least one lecture a semester through the nutrition department’s different lecture series because it allows me to gain a deeper insight on the many paths nutrition can take us. With Chef Gadia’s knowledge, students had the opportunity to learn how cooking can be joyous, healthy and nurturing.”
Working with students from Teaching Professor and Chef Mary Kiernan’s Food Service Operations class, Chef Madhu Gadia helped students create an Indian menu of basmati rice, chickpea curry, spicy new potatoes and Cream of Wheat halwa for dessert.
Gadia, a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified diabetes educator, is known for her homestyle, healthy and authentic Indian cooking. The author of two popular books, “New Indian Home Cooking” and “The Indian Vegan Kitchen,” Gadia has more than 25 years of experience as a nutrition counselor, diabetes educator, writer and speaker. Her areas of expertise include healthy eating, weight loss, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other health/nutrition-related topics.
Before becoming a best-selling author, Gadia worked as a clinical dietician and diabetes educator. That led to invitations to conduct cooking classes in her hometown of Ames, Iowa, and as she started to accumulate recipes, she decided to write her first book, which eventually was purchased and distributed by the Penguin Publishing Group.
“During the first few years (after the success of ‘Indian Home Cooking’), I did a lot of cooking demos around the country,” Gadia says. “I’ve done them for chefs, communities and cooking schools, and then I wrote ‘The Indian Vegan Kitchen’ and that led to more cooking demos and sharing my passion through teaching.”
Gadia spent several hours in the morning of her day in Syracuse with students from Teaching Professor and Chef Mary Kiernan’s Food Service Operations class. During the class, the students created an Indian menu of basmati rice, chickpea curry, spicy new potatoes and Cream of Wheat halwa for dessert.
“During prep, I admired her meticulous approach to layering flavors; she emphasized that spices should not blend too early and provided specific instructions on when to add each one to enhance the aroma,” says nutrition major Daphnee Chu ’27, who oversaw the preparation of the chickpea curry. “I enjoyed discussing Indian cuisine with her, particularly the distinctions between North and South Indian dishes, which I find intriguing.”
Chu says learning from Gadia was a “fascinating experience,” and Gadia says she is always excited to impart her knowledge on a younger generation.
“The most important thing is that the teacher (Kiernan) is giving them exposure to other cuisines and expanding their repertoire and interests,” Gadia says. “Maybe 10 years down the road they’ll say, ‘The first time I had Indian cuisine was when this teacher came in and told us how it all works.’”
In the evening, Falk College students, faculty and staff packed Room 204 for Gadia’s demonstration, where she explained in detail how she cooked each of the dishes that the students helped make in the morning.
Nutrition Science major Daphnee Chu ’27 (left) and Nutrition Science master’s student Kirsten Gunderson ’23.
“Having tasted authentic Indian food before, I noticed that some of the spices Chef Gadia used were different from what I was accustomed to, despite both being labeled as ‘chickpea curry,’” Chu says. “During her lecture, she explained how ‘spiced’ Indian cuisine is, mentioning that 95 percent of Indian households don’t use curry powder.
“This insight surprised me, as I had never considered it before, and it made me realize that I had never encountered two Indian dishes that tasted exactly the same,” Chu adds. “This experience deepened my understanding of Indian food culture, and I’m grateful to Falk for the chance to work closely with Chef Gadia.”
As Gadia described her preparation and cooking methods during the demonstration, she emphasized that Indian foods are relatively easy to make, and they don’t have to be spicy. At the end of the demonstration, all attendees enjoyed samples of the food that Gadia and the students had prepared in the morning.
“My cooking mantra would be Indian cuisine is simple and easy, and people think it’s so complicated,” Gadia says. “I disagree with that, and my job is to show them how it’s simple and easy.”
Gadia says her nutrition mantra is that all foods, even some of the ones we consider unhealthy, can fit into a healthy diet. Gunderson says she appreciated the opportunity to spend time with a well-known chef and dietician who is equally focused on cooking and nutrition.
“Between her expertise in Indian cuisine and my novice understanding of it, I was able to take away so much,” Gunderson says. “Her comforting nature in the kitchen and the joy she got from cooking was evident throughout her presentation.
“I had not had a prior experience learning about Indian cuisine, but I was most interested in learning about the different spices and how they truly add to a dish,” Gunderson says. “Getting the opportunity to smell and try some spices that I never had before was exciting.”
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