Culinary Therapy is a captivating and inspirational presentation with Executive Chef Cardie Mortimer about food and life, guaranteed to entertain, enlighten, and delight audiences of any age. His powerful presentation takes viewers on a thought-provoking and fun-loving tour of the Chef’s storied career, the challenges he overcame, the successes he achieved and the lessons he learned and shares. At the end of this one-hour journey, viewers find themselves bubbling with passion for cooking, living, and giving back.

Culinary Therapy is a one-of-a-kind experience that leaves a lasting impact that is perfect for high schools, middle schools, universities, well-care centers, nursing homes, churches, hospitals and more.  

How Culinary Therapy started.

Cardie Mortimer's journey to creating his inspiring Culinary Therapy program began when a serious medical condition left him paralyzed from the waist down in 2010. What followed was extensive spinal surgery and a grueling rehabilitation process. While enduring the excruciating physical therapy sessions, Chef Cardie took time to reflect on his life's purpose. During a moment of solitude in the rehabilitation facility, he vowed to recover so that he could give back to others.

To show his appreciation to the medical staff that treated him throughout his recovery, Chef Cardie prepared a heartfelt thank-you luncheon for the staff, which he discovered was a therapeutic experience both for him and his audience. The extraordinarily positive feedback led to an invitation to entertain the facility’s residents and the continued enthusiastic response inspired Cardie to expand on this concept which he dubbed Culinary Therapy.

After more than 100 Culinary Therapy appearances since then, Chef Cardie continues to share his remarkable journey of overcoming adversity paired with the healing power of food.