A taste for success: Boram’s culinary externship at Northwell Health

When it came to her culinary externship, Boram Lee knew she wanted to get a taste of healthcare.

Northwell Health recently partnered with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to host their culinary externs and introduce innovative new culinary talent to healthcare careers. Boram, a student at the prestigious CIA, is the first student to participate in this exciting externship program.

“I heard about the externship from one of my professors and my goal is to be in healthcare so I was very interested,” says Boram. After the application and interview process, Boram was selected to participate and have her summer externship at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH).

At NSUH, Boram participated in a 14-week program under the guidance of the executive chef and sous chef in an immersive learning experience that taught her about food as care, nutrition training, and community food access in addition to more traditional culinary training.

With such a diverse training program, Boram got to experience all the facets of a holistic culinary healthcare career – and grew as a chef along the way! “I learned about the many different diets and allergies patients can have and the variety of menus Northwell creates to support that,” says Boram.

From technical training with the executive chef to nutrition training with registered dieticians, Boram’s externship helped her develop new skills such as menu planning and therapeutic diets. Boram even got to participate in bedside rounds and interactions to see firsthand how our food impacts patients and families.

Throughout her externship, Boram saw just how Northwell is committed to raising the standard for hospital food with Michelin-trained and award-winning Chef Bruno Tison leading the way. Having to create restaurant quality food at a healthier and larger scale was a challenge she enjoyed.

And as for what she’ll remember most from her externship? “It was so rewarding to discover how changing the way you eat can give you a longer lifespan,” says Boram.

Learn more about Northwell Health’s commitment to culinary excellence.