Annie Fenn is a physician, chef, culinary instructor, and the author of The Brain Health Kitchen: Preventing Alzheimer’s Through Food (Artisan 2023). She is the only doctor/chef exclusively focused on the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.

Dr. Fenn is board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. After attending medical school at the Chicago Medical School/Finch University of Health Sciences, she completed a four-year residency in Chicago at Illinois Masonic Medical Center/University of Illinois. From the day she delivered her first baby at Cook County Hospital, she knew women’s health would be her passion. She moved to Jackson, Wyoming upon graduation and practiced for the next six years as a solo doctor. At the time, she was the only board certified female OB/GYN in the state of Wyoming. She became certified as a Menopausal Health Expert by the North American Menopause Society and was the only menopause-focused practitioner in the Wyoming/Idaho/Montana region. In time, she brought in partners and established the Women’s Health Center, a progressive medical practice focused on obstetrics, gynecology, family practice, menopausal medicine, and gynecology.

Over the years, Dr. Fenn delivered nearly a thousand babies, cared for multiple generations of women, and performed hundreds of surgeries. During her last eight years of practice, she focused primarily on menopausal medicine. Her interest in brain health was sparked during these years as she witnessed the effects of hormonal fluctuations on cognitive function in her patients. She was an early adopter of the importance of nutrition and lifestyle in the treatment and prevention of disease.

After twenty years of practicing medicine, Dr. Fenn retired in 2010. She attended culinary school in Italy, Mexico (Cocinar Mexicano in Tepoztlan), and at the Culinary Institute of America (San Antonio, Texas). As a culinary instructor at Central Wyoming College, her local community college, she focused on teaching people how to cook with whole foods. She wrote dozens of food pieces for magazines and penned a twice-monthly newspaper column about food, sustainability and health.

In 2015 Dr. Fenn partnered with Dr. Martha Stearn of the Cognitive Health Institute to create Brain Works, an eight-week dementia prevention program in Jackson, Wyoming, and the first community-based program in the U.S. of its kind. Brain Works was created for healthy participants who want to learn all the evidence-based ways to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias through movement, meditation, mindfulness, brain games, and good sleep hygiene. Dr. Fenn created the culinary curriculum for Brain Works with hands-on cooking classes focused on brain healthy ingredients and techniques.

Dr. Fenn created the Brain Health Kitchen Cooking School in 2015. She speaks throughout the country about how our food choices impact brain health and travels to bring Brain Health Kitchen classes to other communities. Dr. Fenn is a guest lecturer at the University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, speaking to first and second year medical students, faculty, and staff about brain health nutrition. She teaches the Brain Health Kitchen cooking method as part of Sempre Sano, a wellness retreat featuring leading physicians and researchers in the field of nutrition in Tuscany, Italy, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Spring Island, North Carolina. She is a frequent Visiting Chef at La Cocina Que Canta cooking school at Rancho La Puerta, where she also lectures about Alzheimer’s prevention. In addition, Dr. Fenn hosts week-long Brain Health Retreats in Italy and Panama.

Dr. Fenn advises or serves on the boards of these impactful organizations: Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen’s HFC (Science Advisory Board); the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation (Scientific Advisory Council); Mind What Matters (Board Member); Neuro Reserve (Scientific Advisor). She is an advisor to the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, has co-chaired (with Maria Shriver) Move For Minds, an Alzheimer’s awareness event, and is the Physician/Chef presenter at their upcoming brain health retreat.

Dr. Fenn reaches out to her target audience twice weekly through her newsletter BrainHealthKitchen.Substack.com where she shares the latest scientific studies pertaining to food, lifestyle, and brain health , creates recipes based on the 10 brain health food groups, and writes guidelines for brain healthy living. In addition, she posts inspiration for brain healthy cooking and living frequently on Instagram @brainhealthkitchen.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Mailing: PO Box 1328, Wilson, WY 83014
Phone: 307-690-0323
Email: [email protected]

Annie Fenn, MD, physician, chef, and founder of The Brain Health Kitchen

Recipes excerpted from The Brain Health Kitchen by Annie Fenn (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2023. Photographs by Alexandra Grablewski