Thin Is In
A new breed of svelte chef changes the image of professional cooking
Standing six-feet tall and weighing in at a scant 142 pounds, pasty chef Aaron Lindgren defies convention. Despite his unrelenting job leading the pastry kitchen at Cinch, one of L.A.’s busiest restaurants, the dessert master has retained his lanky physique in the face of extraordinary temptations – to the disbelief of restaurant diners.
“Every single time, I get strange looks,” says Lindgren of his appearances in the dining room. “The two most commonly asked questions are ‘What’s your speciality’ and ‘Oh my god how do you stay so thin!’”
Lindgren isn’t alone. Just as fat free foods took the world by storm in the ‘90s, lite chefs are the latest status symbol to take over culinary circles in the ‘00s. And while the trend may not be exclusive to California (an Australian pastry chef recently confessed to cooking strictly by recipe to reduce her need for tastings, thereby preserving her slim physique), it is here that the svelte-chef movement flourishes. Just head to Venice Beach on Sunday mornings, where a group of L.A. chefs play volleyball following buying trips to the nearby farmers market.
In the era of the celebrity cook, the phenomenon of the physical makeover should come as no real surprise. “I think it’s public appeal slim chefs are aiming for,” says James Boyce, head chef at Studio at the Montage Resort and Spa. After ballooning to 300 pounds during a three-year battle with depression and alcoholism, Boyce dropped back to a lean 175 pounds by taking vigorous hikes and following a high-protein diet, much like that which he serves to restaurant guests.: Studio’s innovative, season-driven menu relies more on herbs and fresh flavours than traditional cream, butter and starchy accompaniments.
Of course there is more to the growing trend than public relations alone. As television networks thirst for new food shows to tantalize viewers, the promise of a high profile and fatter pay checks has taken cooking out of its blue collar roots and in to the professional realm – and with the professional image comes the need for a more polished look, says Andrew Sutton, head chef at Napa Rose in Anaheim. “It’s more artistic now and you never view an artist as being a fat guy,” he says. So long to the traditional caricature of the pudgy cook.
Keeping fit is also a method of survival in the high-pressure restaurant domain. With the daily demands of tasting and hours spent standing behind hot stovetops in cramped spaces, this is not an occupation for those lacking stamina. AT AOC, chef and part owner Suzanne Goin partakes in a combination of yoga, gym and long hikes to keep in top form – along with an eating regime that emphasizes grazing (a habit most chefs prefer). A typical day may include a salad before work, then a spoon of stock, a taste of bitter chocolate ice-cream and a little aioli. Not entirely appetizing, Goin admits, but necessary. “The kitchen is hot, it’s crowded. It’s hard to cook when you’re full, food is less appealing.”
But while restaurant-goers may struggle to reconcile the disparate ideas of fitness and fine food (each chef has a story to tell regarding diner disbelief at their distinct lack of girth) for Cinch head chef Chris Behre, it all makes perfect sense. New generation chefs are cooking with a high awareness of movements like organics, Slow Food and the idea of holistic health; Behre is more likely to meet friends for a round of golf than an all-night drinking sessions. Invariably this awareness rubs off, in their own lives and in the food they prepare. “We are changing to a lighter style if food,” he says of himself and his peers. “We cook for our customers, but we also cook what we like to eat.”