Master Chef George Karousos of the International Institute of Culinary Arts on Rock Street in Fall River recently appeared on WSAR's Keri Rodrigues show to talk about his new healthy cooking class. Healthy City coordinator David Weed sat down with Chef Karousos to talk about cooking, food and healthy eating in the Fall River and the United States. Chef Karousos contrasted American attitudes about food with those of Europe. "In America, we don't know how to eat well," commented Karousos. "We eat too quickly, we don't enjoy our meals and we spend far too little time eating as a family. Children grow up without learning how to enjoy the pleasures of conversation and well prepared food. We exchange speed for quality, preferring to use packaged foods that are full of chemicals rather than taking a few extra minutes to prepare fresh foods that are so much better for us." Chef Karousos went on to talk about how he would like to see the Institute become an educational resource for the entire community. To get more information about what the Institute has to offer, call 508-675-9305 or e-mail info@iicaculinary.com.
 

(Top row, left ) Dr. Weed sits down for a conversation with Master Chef George Karousos in the Abbey Grille at 100 Rock Street. (Remaining photos) Chef Karousos spoke about how his family would always get together on Sunday and enjoy a meal together. He would like to see more of that in Fall River because it would make the community stronger. He would also like to see better foods available, both in grocery stores and in restaurants. He attributes much of the problem of obesity in this city to people not knowing about food, especially how to prepare low calorie foods that taste good. He also sees the lack of exercise as a major contributor. "We're like cows who sit around and do nothing but eat," said Karousos. "No wonder we're getting fatter. We need to balance good food with good activity, get out to the parks and play with our children," he added.