Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Best Field Trip Ever: The White House Garden

Sam Kass
I am compelled to share this slightly off-topic experience because I feel so honored to have had the opportunity yesterday to tour the first lady's garden with White House chef, Sam Cass. I was presenting on marketing healthy foods to adolescents to a conference of food service managers and a trip to the White House happened to be on our conference agenda. And it was the best field trip ever.

A baby papaya tree.

It was a beautiful September day and after a little shuffling around the White House because of a helicopter landing and issues at security, we made our way through the garden and had the opportunity to ask questions. According to Mr. Cass, the Obamas like simple, fresh foods; ingredients come from the garden every night; while organic practices are used while gardening, the garden is not certified organic; and the glamour of being the White House chef eventually wears off.

After the White House tour, we headed back to the hotel for more presentations. A woman named Corey, whose job title is urban farm coordinator, gave an amazing presentation about farming at her Job Corps center. The center was awarded an ARRA grant to develop an acre of farmland on their inner-city property. On the farm, Corey, a friendly San Francisco native, not only grows all of the standard fruits, vegetables, and flowers, she also has a fish pond and a chicken coup. Corey also provides a much bigger service to the at-risk youth at her center; she uses the farm to teach them about growing food, healthy eating, and opportunities to decrease health disparities, like food deserts, in poor communities.

Admittedly, I have a bit of a black thumb. In fact, I made a joke about it several years ago and touched a leaf on a plant. A few weeks later, that leaf was dead. I'm not even kidding. But my trip to the White House (even if I didn't get to meet Michelle) and Korey's presentation made me want to get out there and rent a piece of an urban farm. Any tips for those of us who aren't naturals in the botanical world?






Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Why do people choose healthy foods?

For our fifth anniversary, my husband and I went to Top Chef runner-up Mike Isabella’s new restaurant, Graffiato. In preparation of our big dinner, I read every Yelp review written about the place. I wanted to order just right. The restaurant serves small plates—a little bigger than tapas, a good bit smaller than a meal. A lot of the reviews were divided; many people loved the chicken thighs with pepperoni sauce that was called “orgasmic” by Top Chef judge Gail Simmons; others referred to it as overrated. The pizza was also polarizing; some called it perfect; others called it bland and overpriced. Nearly every dish has as many lovers as haters, except for the roasted cauliflower, that is.

Yelpers raved about the roasted cauliflower. Perfectly cooked so it was crisp on the outside and creamy in the middle in a good quality olive oil with pecorino romano cheese, lemon zest, and mint. I couldn’t wait to order this vegetable. It most certainly didn’t disappoint. I truly could have eaten 10 times the portion of this wonderful cauliflower. And, as an added bonus, it might possibly be the healthiest thing on the menu.

Graffiato is no Applebee’s. There’s no Weight Watcher’s menu and no little heart icon pointing people to the healthy dish, yet a lot of customers are noshing on this delight. So why is this $6 mini plate of cauliflower so popular?

For starters, it’s delicious. In order for people to choose a healthy dish it has to taste good. Vegetables aren’t cooked properly so much of the time. They are often over or undercooked and almost always under seasoned.

Second, people order this cauliflower because other people like this cauliflower. Yelp and the DC food blogs have seen to it that people know about this dish. People order it because others like it.

Mike Isabella’s intention wasn’t to convince people to eat their vegetables. His purpose is to sell food of all kinds that tastes good. It just happens that he makes a rocking cauliflower. But could the lack of a health claim be the reason why people fawn over the dish?

Companies market so many foods, from chips with whole grain to sugary cereals with immunity boosters to organic blueberries, with health claims. In this series of posts, I’m going to explore what makes people choose to eat a healthy food.


Stay tuned for part two "Do health claims on food make a difference?"