Chef Peter X. Kelly
Teaching Kitchen

A Variety of Cooking Classes and Innovative Programs

NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital is dedicated to contributing to community’s wellness by emphasizing healthful eating as a way to prevent chronic disease and promote health. The Chef Peter X. Kelly Teaching Kitchen has its own organic garden managed by a team of volunteers

The Chef Peter X. Kelly Teaching Kitchen

NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital’s renowned Chef Peter X. Kelly Teaching Kitchen has been open to the public since July 2014 and is located at 1992 Crompond Road on the hospital’s Cortlandt Manor campus. Named after the Iron Chef winner and owner of Xaviars Restaurant Group, each month a variety of innovative programs and cooking classes are offered to the community, including breastfeeding mothers, patients who’ve had weight loss surgery, cancer survivors, and people with heart disease, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. We also hold classes for those focusing on nutrition for bone health, brain health, and eye health, for example. Learn more about upcoming classes.

Unique programs offer information about managing health through diet and lifestyle changes include the “Healthy Heart Program,” “Physician in the Kitchen,” the “Integrative Therapies Program,” and the “Soups & Sides” program.

Soups & Sides

Developed for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy at the hospital’s Cancer Center, the Soups & Sides series provides nutritional education and tastings. When in season, organic produce is harvested from our on-site garden and used in recipes to create samplings. Recipes for the menu item of the day are also distributed. Patients have the opportunity to discuss the nutritional value of food and how it can support their healing. The chef and a registered dietitian are also available to answer patients’ questions.

Healthy Heart Program

This program consists of four classes. Cardiology patients and other community residents to learn about healthy eating and exercise from our chef, a cardiologist, and a registered dietitian.

Integrative Therapies Program for Cancer Patients

Cancer therapies can be associated with debilitating side effects. The promising news is that certain non-pharmacologic interventions have recently been shown to relieve some of the side effects of cancer treatment. They may also improve mood and decrease fatigue. There is additional evidence that certain lifestyle changes may decrease the risk of cancer recurrence and prevent another cancer from developing.

This unique program gives our cancer patients and their caregivers the opportunity to increase their knowledge and improve their skills to better cope with their illness and its treatments. Held at the hospital’s Teaching Kitchen, it incorporates education and information about advances in the care and treatment of cancer as well as nutrition education, food appreciation activities (including healthy cooking classes and meal planning guidance) along with lifestyle programs, relaxation strategies (yoga and acupressure), and spiritual and emotional support.

The program is led by J. Gregory Mears, MD, a Columbia University Irving Medical Center professor who practices at the hospital’s Cheryl R. Lindenbaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. The goal is to equip participants with skills to maintain a healthy lifestyle during and after treatment.