Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Restaurants Knife's Edge: 21 days later
Posted by Richard Blais on Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 1:24 PM
A few weeks ago, my wife decided after careful research, and I believe (in all honesty) after watching an episode of "Oprah," that she would embark on a lifestyle challenge: going completely vegan, no gluten, no processed sugar, no alcohol, and no caffeine for 21 days.
At first, I didn't think I would participate. Jazmin got started on July 1, along with her cousin Nicole who's interning with us. I decided as a show of support to follow along loosely. And I’d help cook at home, or guide their efforts in the kitchen. But my competitiveness came to the surface and I had to see if I could do it.
It may be important at this point to remind you that I’m a chef. Currently running a hamburger restaurant. Frying potatoes in a mixture of duck fat and lard. Pureeing Krispy Kreme doughnuts into milkshakes. You’re more apt to find me at a local coffee house than my own kitchen. And I do a ton of consulting for beverage and liquor companies.
This lifestyle challenge would be difficult if I were an accountant. But in my line of work, it seemed impossible.
On the other hand, it came at a good time. I work much more on the creative side at FLiP, so tasting there was in the capable hands of the executive chef. I had already made the decision to not drink alcohol a few months ago, and my busy travel schedule happened to have only a few appearances during the time frame — events where I wouldn’t need to prepare specific restricted items.
So I went for it. I’m not going to bore you with the extreme details and soapbox chatter. But I’ll share some of the inspiration I took from my experiment:
As the experiment concluded, it revealed a new lifestyle for my family and me. I lost 14 pounds without trying. Well, I should say without sweating it out on a treadmill. I managed to spend more time with my family, and better quality time with my staff and business partners. It made me a more thoughtful person. A conscious eater. A better dad. Husband. Chef.
Food is indeed powerful.
Comments (21)
Showing 1-21 of 21
Very nice. Wondered how and why you had lost so much weight the last time we talked.Now I know it is all good.Just don't go hollywood on us.
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As a vegan foodie in Atlanta, I really appreciate this statement: "We have taught ourselves to create an amazing dish and say, 'it happens to be vegan,' instead of 'here is our vegan dish.'" I'm always amazed the chefs don't realize how delicious and creative vegan food can be, so I'm heartened to see a chef thinking outside of the meat-dairy-egg box! Any plans for a vegan option at Flip?
Great article. A vegetable-centric restaurant sounds fabulous! As a vegetarian, I've been beyond frustrated at the majority of Atlanta restaurants. It's hard to find places with more than one dull, token vegetarian entree - and many not even that. Then there's the servers that just point out the chicken or seafood when you say you'd like something vegetarian. Restaurants are losing business over this. They just don't know it. I don't go where I can't eat, and neither do my veggie friends - and we take our non-veggie friends right out the door with us. I would love to see more chefs working to stimulate awareness that meals without animal products can be delicious, creative, beautiful and exciting.
I've been trying to make my diet less meat-centric (after a slightly high cholesterol reading), mostly by taking vegetarian or vegan lunches with me to work (and yes, I have to pack them myself --even in Los Angeles!) but as the parent of a two year old I do not know HOW you gave up caffeine! On the sugar point, I'm not sure sugar's totally generic. I have red wine vinegar, orange champagne vinegar, apple vinegar, balsamic vinegar and rice vinegar in my pantry, but I also have white sugar, powdered sugar, light brown sugar, dark brown sugar and raw sugar. I do try to use cane sugar instead of generic sugar that doesn't specify. And I have given up on most artificial sweeteners. At least with sugar, I know what I'm getting and I know its effects.
Rich You have proven yourself here to be a great husband and a fair minded representative of the world of professional chefs. Let's hope that your wife recognizes and appreciates your sacrifice and decides give you a pass on matching her diet.
This is a great post - kudos to you for your competitive spirit, and for partaking in this important and hopefully life changing experiment. Please, please, open that restaurant, that "...well-designed, fun, flavorful and hospitable … that also just happens to be vegetable-centric" place, in Atlanta, where vegans like myself can go and eat a plethora of goodies, a cornucopia, without having to ask a lot of questions about what's in it, and is there butter, and what about the sugar? Can't wait to see if you follow through.
So from what you've posted around, you used this as a challenge not a lifestyle change. What about your wife? Was she able to complete the challenge as well & has she chosen to change her eating styles?
CJ, What started as a challenge, has changed my lifestyle. I'm much more selective about what I purchase and eat. My wife is just about fully vegan now. Maybe once a week she will eat meat / seafood.
Dynamic Dish is a great place. I know after moving to Austin I deeply miss The Dekalb Farmers Market I believe their loose teas, herbs, grains, and beans are the BEST and CHEAPEST! My last class at the wellness center taught me to only purchase non canned beans dry, bulk. BC aluminum cans can leak and dry bulk beans are so much cheaper. That dekalb farmers market is the best. great post, wish u had included one short recipe :) i swapped coconut ice cream for all others and it has been a very lovely change. i heard coconut flour is the next biggest thing. :)
Loved the post! Spouse and I are both strict vegetarians and wish the world had more awesome dishes that happen to be vegan. Thanks for making that happen!
I love love love this post. I truely applaude your effort in going against the grain (no pun intended) and showing everyone that vegans and vegitarians, despite their reasons for not eating this or that have a very valid and healthy point. Kudos.
Chef Blais, how did you stick to the diet with your extensive travel schedule? I travel a lot with my job as well, and I'm forced to eat a lot of fast food and chain restaurant garbage. It's hard for me to find a decent non-vegan meal, much less one that would follow the guidelines of the experiment.
Great Article Richard!!! I thought I had always eaten a healthy diet until I had to go completely vegan after three heart attacks and bypass surgery. I had a very bad prognosis and the cardiologist was seeing rapid disease progression. I did the research and dropped the animal products and processed surgars and starches and within two months, the plaques in my arteries has stablized and even started to shrink in size. I'm able to run again and work-out which I really missed. I still stick to my diet for the most part but added fish oil and Cold Water Wild Caugght Fish twice to three times a week.
But you're still making the Krispy Kreme milshake, right? Right ??? You should partner with the folks that used to run Lush - their place followed the sensibilities you've described.
Bravo! I became a vegetarian 8 years ago and it completely changed my perspective on food in ways I could have never perceived. It has lifted me up, challenged me to create vibrant flavors, beautiful dishes, and conscientous cuisine. Please Richard, open that restaurant and I will fly there just to eat dinner!
I'd like to take the opportunity to brag on my favorite Vegan restaurant, Veggieland on Pharr Rd. in Buckhead. The selections are tasty and creative. This comes from a non-vegeterian who also happens to love FLIP!
I thought these were interesting posts on your Twitter feed and good to read your full summary here. I've used vegan/vegetarian diets off and on for the past 25 years, for different reasons. Now I find it appealing simply because I enjoy the cuisine. During one period for 6 months, I used a completely raw vegan diet and found that my palette changed appreciably. Zucchini and mushrooms became entirely new flavors to me! Did you experience any similar changes in how vegetables tasted? As a side note, highly recommend a veg restaurant called DirtCandy in NYC (lower east side) next time you pass through town. The flavors are there, and the technique is amazing.
Ditto re: Jamie on Veggieland. The "Sally's Surprise" is one of my favorite lunches when I am craving something healthy and filling.
As a vegetarian who eats very little dairy and sugar or artificial sweeteners, I applaud your experiment. It can be very difficult for me to eat out, and I'm not even officially a vegan. I wish all chefs would try eating that way for a while. I think we would have many more options available to us. I was also anti-quinoa for a long time, without even trying it. I love it now - especially with almond meal mixed in. Yum! thanks again, Deb
I greatly applaud your very sincere effort to follow what can clearly be a very challenging diet. For just over three months, I've returned to a mostly vegan stage of life. I was a committed vegan over 20 years ago, unhappily and judgmentally so. Now I love the opportunity to truly enjoy eating vegan; and there are some appealing choices all over, quite often at non-veg restos. Bonus: it makes shopping much easier and quicker! Watch Food, Inc., Fresh, and related movies. Read the Omnivore's Dilemma. Recognize that for many, eating as low as possible on the food chain really does make a difference. It can also be delicious, healthy, and FUN. Always remember and emphasize the last part!
Blais, I always knew you were extremely talented, however due to a recent Facebook entry I read an article that was written by you, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It left me craving another article written by you which I found very easily accessible as well as enjoyable. Thank you for sharing your amazing talent with the public...and by the way thank you even more for sporting a Red Sox cap. Enjoy life.....
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