Three years operating Le Petit Café—creating menus, being a chef and teaching cooking classes—were challenging and creative. Closing the restaurant to return to school was an important turning point. Dr. Harlan originally intended to pursue a degree in hotel and restaurant management, but events led him toward medicine and the decision to become a physician.

After finishing an undergraduate degree in anthropology and biology at Emory University in Atlanta, Dr. Harlan went on to study at Emory University School of Medicine. Working as a caterer throughout school, he continued to be involved with food and cooking but noticed a lack of knowledge in the medical field about eating healthy and eating well. Neither patients nor health care providers understood much about a healthful diet. Patients, it seemed, were usually told not what they could eat but, rather, what they could not eat.   More detail...