Knife’s Edge: 21 days later
August 18th, 2009 by Richard Blais in Food & Life, Knife's Edge
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:
- This type of challenge requires you to cook at home. Even as a restaurateur who wants you to patronize my restaurants, I’m going to say that cooking at home can never be a bad thing. What this meant for our family was much more time together. Even if that time is at the stove, it’s family time.
- It dawned on me as we were purchasing brown rice syrup, agave nectar and stevia, that sugar is one of the last generic ingredients left in a kitchen. Sure, chefs employ different varieties of sweeteners. But many recipes just ask for sugar. In a day and age when even the semi-serious home cook has an arsenal of olive oils and salts, sugar still stands in monopoly over the rest.
- Grains are good. Why did I have a personal issue with quinoa? Quinoa, I apologize. You are easy to cook, beautiful to look at, and indeed nutritious. I’m sorry.
- Local, organic, green, grass-fed, etc. Coincidentally, during this challenge we viewed the movie Food, Inc. As a chef, I’m quite familiar with slaughterhouses and the fact that we eat dead animals. And the fact that we kill them. But it’s so easy for food, in turn, to harm us. Maybe because I’m a new father, I couldn’t bare to watch the story unfold of the deadly E. coli 0157:H7 and the lives it took, especially the young ones. I have since made even more of an effort to provide grass-fed beef at my restaurant and to make sure that we’re cooking everything to health code specifications regarding temperature.
- I’m not addicted to diet carbonated beverages anymore. I didn’t realize I was, but it was the only item I truly craved and missed for a few days. Once the experiment was over, I found myself at Dodger Stadium ordering a diet soda, and the taste was cloyingly sweet. Even the carbonation didn’t help to make it refreshing. I could feel my teeth decaying. And for the first time, I felt like I was tasting something for what it was. It was a revelation. I still enjoy a sip here and there. But it was an addiction more than a leisurely pleasure.
- Rediscovering Atlanta’s farmers markets and restaurants. You’ll catch me at Morningside on Saturday mornings much more frequently now. And places such as Dynamic Dish, which before were a bit off my personal radar, now offer a comfort that has made us regulars.
- Creativity. I’ve always prided myself on treating anyone with dietary restrictions as important as everyone else. By walking in those shoes, I have begun specifically crafting items whose goal isn’t to appease a set group but to inspire. We have taught ourselves to create an amazing dish and say, “it happens to be vegan,” instead of “here is our vegan dish.”
- While in Los Angeles (an epicenter for this type of eating), it was apparent that most restaurants with the aspiration of cooking healthy, vegetarian or vegan do so at the expense of design almost all of the time, and at the expense of flavor frequently. There are plenty of vegetable-friendly casual eateries, where you can chow on quinoa burritos while the incense burns and Bob Marley wails. But why can’t a restaurant take shape that is well-designed, fun, flavorful and hospitable … that also just happens to be vegetable-centric? Suddenly, I have a burning desire to open such a restaurant. …
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.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:50 am
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.
August 18th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
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?
August 18th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
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.
August 18th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
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.
August 18th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
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.
August 18th, 2009 at 8:49 pm
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.
August 18th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
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?
August 18th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
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.
August 18th, 2009 at 11:23 pm
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. :)
August 18th, 2009 at 11:24 pm
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!
August 18th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
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.
August 19th, 2009 at 10:02 am
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.
August 19th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
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.
August 19th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
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.
August 20th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
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!
August 21st, 2009 at 5:02 pm
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!
August 21st, 2009 at 8:30 pm
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.
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:15 am
Ditto re: Jamie on Veggieland. The “Sally’s Surprise” is one of my favorite lunches when I am craving something healthy and filling.
August 22nd, 2009 at 1:17 pm
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
August 22nd, 2009 at 11:18 pm
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!
September 28th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
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…..