Chef Robert E. Graham, MD, MPH
Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer, FRESH Medicine
Chef Robert E. Graham, MD, MPH is a Harvard-trained researcher and physician. Dr. Graham is board certified in both Internal and Integrative Medicine, trained in Holistic and Functional Medicine. Dr. Graham received a Master of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health while completing three additional fellowships in General Internal Medicine and Complementary and Integrative Medical Therapies at Harvard Medical School as well as Medical Education at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His clinical research focused on health disparities, integrative therapies including dietary supplements amongst racial and ethnic minorities. He also completed course-work in Mind/Body Medicine, Positive Psychology, Lifestyle Medicine, Culinary Medicine, Botanical and Traditional Chinese Medicine. In 2018, Dr. Graham became one of less than fifty doctor/chef’s worldwide, as he obtained his culinary degree from the Natural Gourmet Institute.
Dr. Graham is a public health scientist, health service researcher, TED speaker, food activist and Chef. Dr. Graham believes medicine needs a FRESH start, together with his wife, they founded FRESH Medicine and FRESH Med U. FRESH Medicine is an integrative health and wellness center located in NYC. FRESH is an acronym for the five ingredients in their recipe to health: Food, Relaxation, Exercise, Sleep and Happiness. Dr. Graham prescribes the “FRESH 5” for health and healing and has witnessed many patients get off their medications and live happier, more fulfilling lives.
Dr. Graham is the proud son of a farmer and an El Salvadorian immigrant born and raised in Jackson Heights in Queens, NYC. A lifelong “food fighter” and a leader in the field of Integrative/Functional and Holistic Medicine has prescribed “food as medicine” for nearly 20 years, has taught over 1000 healthcare workers, mostly doctors, how to cook whole food, plant-based meals, and created the first edible rooftop garden on a hospital in NYC. When not seeing patients, Dr. Graham trades his white lab coat for chef’s whites with the goal of expanding his toolkit both for use as a healthcare provider and as an advocate for a new model of integrative, “food-first” lifestyle-focused healthcare called Culinary Medicine. Dr. Graham serves as the first Chief Health Officer of a food company called Performance Kitchen where he not only advises but also designs and prescribes medically tailored meals for patients with chronic diseases.
In 2019, he and Julie launched an online self-care “university,” called FRESH MED U. FRESH MED U allows people and companies to learn remotely, on their own time, using their intrinsic motivation to achieve their FRESH goals and live healthier and happier lives. They currently consult with multiple Fortune 2000 companies as corporate employee wellness vendors. In the fall of 2021, Dr. Graham was asked to be part of NYC Mayor Eric Adams Food Transition team, focusing on institutional foods, a true honor for a native New Yorker. On September 28, 2022, Dr. Graham, was asked to participate in person in Washington, D.C. at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. He continues to be humbled by the opportunity to serve. He believes we are all here to serve others—our neighbors, our communities, and even complete strangers.