Renee Cherkezian and EPICURED
4 Remarkable things about Renee Cherkezian
As a nurse she saw an opportunity to help patients with food.
She went to Paris to further her culinary abilities.
In forming EPICURED she chose a partner with experience in the administrative medical field.
Her heart is with the Armenian nation.
Have you heard of EPICURED? It is a healthcare company that uses food as medicine to help patients with digestive diseases such as IBS, Crohn’s and Colitis. It is the brainchild of Renee Cherkezian who, as a nurse, was helping a friend battle cancer. His treatment included a restricted diet which was difficult to make and still have good taste. As she helped him prepare better-tasting meals she realized the healing power of food and saw the potential of helping the 20-30% of the U.S. population who struggle with digestive illnesses. These patients often are afraid to eat because of the accompanying pain and discomfort.
Renee decided to learn more about healthy food preparation even beyond what she learned growing up cooking good, fresh and healthy Armenian meals with her mother and grandmother. She moved to Paris to study at the Sorbonne University and earned a certificate of excellence at the Ritz Escoffier.
From left: Daniel Chavez-Bello (Culinary Director), Richard Bennett (Co-founder and CEO), and Renee Cherkezian, RN (Co-founder and Director of Food and Health Sciences)
She partnered with Richard Bennett, a friend and former classmate from Georgetown University who had worked as a health care executive and entrepreneur for years. They started EPICURED in 2015 to prepare and deliver fresh, gourmet-quality foods which taste good and are safe for digestive problems. They follow the low-FODMAP dietary guidelines developed in Australia.
“Mount Sinai Health System, a leader in gastroenterology care, is partnering with EPICURED, formally bringing the meal delivery service into patient treatment plans. The fully prepared meals include options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Every item is free of hormones, antibiotics and gluten.”
(AGBU Insider V10 April, 2019)
EPICURED currently serves thousands of customers across the Northeast corridor from Boston to Washington, D.C. They are looking into expanding the company’s delivery area and introducing meal plans for other chronic conditions. 50% of the EPICURED client base are not on a restricted diet – but want to eat healthy portion-controlled meals that taste good!
One of Renee’s dreams is to share the EPICURED mission with the people of Armenia who, even with amazing produce, fruit and other types of food, still suffer from malnourishment in some communities. “My goal is to deliver education that shows Armenians how to use their foods to better their health”