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Natalia Rusin, R.D. '01One of the first graduates of J&W’s culinary nutrition program, Natalia Rusin combined culinary arts with sound nutrition to become a renowned culinary development and nutrition specialist at CulinArt, a $100 million food service company near New York City.
Rusin began her career at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, R.I., working with adolescents and children with eating disorders. She also created recipes and prepared nutritious, home-cooked meals for Savory Solutions in Boston. To advance her knowledge of nutrition, Rusin entered the dietetic internship program at Cornell’s New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, one of the most prestigious programs in the world. As a registered dietitian, Rusin pursued her career in a hospital setting before moving to CulinArt, all the while continuing to work part-time as a personal chef. Rusin’s job responsibilities at CulinArt include bringing healthy, nutritious, great tasting food and meals to CulinArt’s customers while raising nutritional awareness. Any given day might find Rusin creating and testing new recipes, running nutritional analysis, writing new food programs, attending food expos or participating in client presentations. “The dynamic of having Natalia present at a sales presentation has been extremely positive,” her employer says. “Hearing firsthand from our registered dietitian…about CulinArt’s nutritional focus and all the programs we have in place has been so effectual.” Rusin also runs the company’s Nutrition Awareness Days. She offers one-on-one nutrition counseling, samples of freshly prepared food and quick nutrition quizzes to interested attendees. “The culinary nutrition program at Johnson & Wales was a perfect match for me,” says Rusin of her alma mater. “Unlike other ADA-accredited nutrition programs, culinary nutrition has a strong focus on all aspects of food and how science pertains to food. I have a complete understanding of food, from a culinary and nutrition perspective. I continue to cook as a personal chef, because it is a passion on of mine to create high-end cuisine that is truly balanced and healthy.” |
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