Celebrity Chefs

Olive Oil And Its Many Uses

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Olive oil is fat in the real sense of the word. But the fat that it contains is the monounsaturated fatty acid or MUFA considered to be the healthy type.

There are several health benefits to be gained from olive oil consumption. Firstly, it lowers the risk of heart disease together with the polyunsaturated fat. It is able to do this by cutting total cholesterol levels. Some studies have found that MUFAs also control insulin and blood sugar levels.

Olive oil can be a good alternative to your butter or stick margarine. Do remember it’s never appropriate to use them together.

When shopping for this item, pick the one that is less processed as it still contains the nutrients. The extra virgin oil, which is more expensive, goes through the first pressing only and therefore, retains the most flavor. The cold pressed ones and virgin oil are okay as well as they are not heated up beyond room temperature. What you should avoid are the regular or pure olive oil which normally undergoes refining and filtering. Generally, they have lower nutrients.
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The Organic Chef

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Michel Nischan decided that he would create a new way of cooking- based on health and well-being, when his son Chris was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 5.

“Chris’s illness made me realize that floating on foie gras and bathing in butter might not be in the best interest of my customers.”

This was back in 1994, and since then, Nischan has revolutionized cooking, creating a cuisine where the dishes are not just good for you and taste fantastic, but more imporatntly, the ingredients used are purely organic products.

A farmer’s son, Nischan was raised on the land, which laid the foundations for his organic understanding about food:

“I was raised to understand that the soul of a vegetable comes from the soil, and the rain is its life-blood…The food we grow and eat in the place we call home defines who we are and what we care about.” He says.

His career flourished through several successful restaurants in the Mid-west, until he shot to stardom when he introduced his new concepts of organic eating at the Heartbeat restuarant at the W Hotel in New York City in 1997.

Since then, Nischan has authored two groundbreakingcookbooks on the subject of organic eating – Homegrown Pure and Simple: Great Healthy Food from Garden to Table (2005) and Taste Pure and Simple: Irresistible Recipes for Good Food and Good Health (2003), which went on the New York Times Bestseller lists as well as win James Beard Foundation awards.

His clear vision, talent and know-how on organic eating has caught the attention of people everywhere, and Nischan has been a busy man indeed, making numerous television appearances, writing for newspapers and magazines, serving as board member for Harvard Medical School‘s Center for Health and The Global Environment, is one of the key organizers of the New American Farmers Initiative (NAFI), and he takes part in helping major food companies work on their issues on sustainable food systems. He also served as host chef for a dinner for the Dalai Lama.

More recently, Nischan has opened a retaurant with another organic food advocate, Paul Newman, “The Dressing Room – A Homegrown Restaurant” in Westport, Connecticut.

If there ever was a celebrity chef to remember for the 21st century, it would be Michel Nischan.