The Intrepid Culinologist  

The Intrepid Culinologist, aka Rachel Zemser, CCS, has one foot planted in the artisan soils of San Francisco
and the other buried deep in the world of R&D, manufacturing and food science. She travels the world in
search of food-related industry trade shows, media and press events, and "local" Bay Area experiences, trying
to figure a way to bridge her two worlds and bring great food to the masses. She has a B.S. and M.S. in Food
Science, a Culinary Arts degree, and almost 15 years of food-industry experiece.

Last week I attended the San Francisco Fancy Food Show and Food Fete (which I will be covering next week...), culinary events that give us permission to indulge in all the foods that occupy the very tip of the food pyramid. Sure, they have their healthy pavilions and the organic aisle, but let’s face it: At the end of the day, its mostly chocolate, olive oil, cheese, jam, caramel popcorn and artisan meat. However, it’s only twice a year, and it usually only takes two weeks to detoxify yourself and get back to normal.

The Fancy Food Show’s alter ego, the World of Healthy Flavors Conference (WOHF), held annually at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in St. Helena several days after Fancy Food, is the perfect contrast and natural way to correct the FFS damage! The conference is a three-day “invitational leadership retreat for chain restaurants, hotels, supermarkets and volume foodservice that brings together the best of world cooking and the latest in nutritional research.” But what does that really mean? Basically, for three days you alternate between lectures (educational, scientific and culinary demos) and eating the most delicious, healthy, flavorful and phenomenal food in the world.

The recipes are all hand-selected by world-cuisine experts and prepared by the culinary students at the CIA under the watchful eye of the renowned chef instructors. The world-cuisine experts included John Ash, Joyce Goldstein, James Sanchez, Suvir Saran and Michael Tuohy. We all watched in awe as they whipped up (on stage) Turkish zucchini pancakes, mushroom-stuffed rellenos, romesco sauce, farro and mushroom burgers, and dozens of other flavorful and healthful dishes.

I want to say that I learned lots of new nutritional information, but I have to admit: Most of what was said on stage was a reiteration of what my mom (an avid reader of all nutritional magazines) has been telling me for years. A few things I knew, but probably needed reminding, included:

1. Eat whole grains like spelt, kamut, barley, bulgar and quinoa
2. Better to eat whole fruit over fruit juices
3. Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and two servings of fish a week
4. Eliminate the trans fats and minimize the saturated fats
5. Processed foods have a high glycemic index, they are absorbed quickly and spike the blood sugar, so go for more low-GI foods which are slowly absorbed (see the Sydney University Glycemic Index website for more details)

Then there were a few points that I never thought of, but make perfect sense, including:

1. Eat a variety of nuts and try to highlight them in meals for flavor, richness and texture—nuts are rich in the good fats (the healthy, unsaturated ones)
2. Experiment with legume and nut flours (chickpea, lentil, peanut, almond) to make breads and pasta
3. Crushed lentils can be used as a breading
4. Consume one or more good source of omega-3 fatty acids every day (fish, walnuts, flax seed, canola oil)

Like all the shows I attend, I ate lots of food at WOHF. However, unlike other shows, I didn’t feel bloated and lethargic, but energized and satisfied. As the conference went on, I started envisioning myself spending more time buying and cooking vegetables and making them flavorful with monounsaturated fat dressings and sprinklings of nuts. I became excited about changing my ways and was inspired by all of the amazing foods being served to us at every breakfast, break, lunch and dinner.

No more trans fats or french fries, I vowed! From this day forward, I would be a whole-grain-eating, MUFA-fat-loving, ancient-grain-cooking, good-carbs-worshiping foodie!

But that all went out the window when Chris Schully, executive chef at Taylor Farms and RCA member invited me to join him and his 14 best friends for an intimate dinner at Bouchon Bistro. Ooooohhhh, temptation ... the black-truffle fries, pork belly, profiteroles, and salmon rillette... Could I resist?

Of course not! I may have just become a healthy-eating convert, but I ain’t stupid! However, I did behave myself and tried to focus on the seafood platter and even ordered a salad for dinner, which paired so well with the salmon rillette, poitrine de porc and boudin.

The conference went on for three days. The last day, however, went beyond the lectures and eating sessions. “Produce First” was the special day where chefs, menu developers, suppliers, sponsors, CIA faculty members and “media” (like me) were divided into teams for hands-on cooking in the fabulous CIA kitchens. But more on that later this week...

User Comments !

Loads of good healthy-eating suggestions here, but one tidbit that hints at misinformation is the statement that "processed foods have a high glycemic index"... Seems like too much of a blanket there. An intentionally low-GI, diabetic-friendly, meal-replacement bar packed with whole grains, dried cherries, almonds, etc.--perhaps sweetened with stevia--is undoubtedly processed, but not high-GI.

Posted by: Doug, aka The Editor | January 27 2010 09:42:53

Fascinating. Wish I could get my hands on some recipes from the WOHF--sometimes I just run out of ideas. 

Posted by: Amy Zemser | January 27 2010 18:19:19

Ohhh, I like the idea of the "crushed lentils" as you suggested for breading but it would have to be pretty fine to not be oddly strange in the mouthfeel, right? Still, I like the idea of adding fiber that way. Right now, I'm adding crushed flaxseed into my breadings for a little extra goodness for my family. Aren't I just Mother of the Year already, hmm?

Posted by: Ellen Hurwitz | January 29 2010 12:58:31

I often feel that breading (of almost any sort) masks the natural flavor of the breaded food. But crushed lentils is a type of breading I think I can embrace. Thanks for the tip.

Posted by: Steven DeMaio | January 31 2010 18:11:57