Good Food Thrills the Senses: Sound: Hear it sizzle! Smell: Appreciate the aroma! Sight: Feast with your eyes! Taste: Savor the flavor! Touch: Feel the textures!

Laura Pensiero, Founder

Chef4Life founder, Laura Pensiero, is a culinary and health professional whose expertise spans a diverse range of the food and health industries.  A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Laura is also a Registered Dietitian, cookbook author, health educator, spokesperson, nutrition and culinary consultant, and the proprietor of Gigi Trattoria in Rhinebeck, New York. In founding Chef4Life, Laura has forged a unique path, integrating her knowledge of nutrition with her culinary training and appreciation of food.   Her creative flair and practical approach for helping people alter their eating habits and cooking methods has become widely recognized. She co-authored Strang Cancer Prevention Center Cookbook (McGraw-Hill 2004), collaborating with celebrity chefs such as Jacques Pepin, Charlie Trotter, Gray Kunz, Michael Mina, and Michael Romano to create healthy, tasty, easy-to-prepare recipes, and was selected as one of O, Oprah Magazine's most "Gifted and Giving" food professionals in the May 2005 5th anniversary issue.

Through Chef4Life, Laura has developed up-to-date nutrition and culinary materials for internationally recognized healthcare institutions and research centers, such as the as the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Cornell Medical College, Strang Cancer Prevention Center, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Caner Center.  She has provided healthy articles, behavioral strategies, cooking tips and recipes to “Oprah Magazine”, “La Cucina Italiana”, “Primo”, and “Prevention Magazine”, and contributed to best-selling cookbooks such as Da Fiore Cookbook, and several of the Hungry Mind’s Dummies cooking collection. 

In the capacity of educator, Laura has taught nutrition principles to both medical students at Cornell Medical College, and culinary students at The Culinary Institute of America and The French Culinary Institute.  Laura has worked closely with the Culinary Institute of America as a consultant and adjunct professor, and, most recently, developed their curriculum for professional chefs seeking certification in nutrition. Outside the classroom, Laura has regularly enticed the general public into trying healthy recipes through her culinary demonstrations at Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s Cancer Prevention & Wellness Program, where she has been the culinary coordinator since 1998.

Throughout her career, Laura has focused her efforts on helping people enjoy new ways of eating by changing behaviors, believing that moderate, “do-able” methods are always more successful than extreme measures.

Today’s Nutrition: It’s Not Just About the Numbers Anymore

A self-described “moderate nutritionist”, Laura strives to help people achieve a balance in their day-to-day culinary experience, finding ways to incorporate foods into their diet as opposed to taking them out.  “Healthy” fats, lean proteins, and a variety of plant foods all have a place in her recipes.   This is a refreshing change of pace for those who are tired of running the numbers. 

While Chef4Life’s mission remains rooted in principles of good nutrition and healthy eating, the vision is one of possibility, where flavor, satisfaction, and well-being trump concern over calculating calories and percentages. Despite her background as a dietitian, Laura is the first to say, “There’s no point to cooking healthy if it’s not as good as anything else you’re going to eat.”