My sweetie took me out for Valentine’s lunch to my favorite restaurant, L’ Eden, an authentic French cafe in beautiful downtown Tampa. The cafe sits on the corner of Tampa and Madison Streets and if one is lucky enough to score a corner table, the urban view and setting is ever so slightly reminiscent of a cafe in Paris where I once dined on omelets overlooking the Seine and Notre Dame Cathedral.
Ok, I said slightly!
I love L’Eden and I’ve eaten there for years. Have I ever told you how much I love French food? If not, you probably guessed it already given the amount of time I spend on this blog lauding the wonders of butter and cream!
The owner of L’Eden is also a French Chef who plans the menu and prepares the food himself. I’ve quizzed him on a couple of occasions about his Food Philosophy (oh yes, there is such a thing!), and he appears careful and thoughtful about the food he serves his customers. He is not one to go for cheap food substitutions to boost profits. He is sincere and earnest in the practice of his craft.
Knowing all this, you can imagine my shock and surprise when I saw Mr. Awesome French Chef himself pull up to the curb in front of the restaurant yesterday while I was enjoying an amazing crock of mushroom and brie soup (made with REAL beef stock) and unload his fresh food for the day’s cooking activities.
Mixed in amidst all the several boxes of fresh produce, was, GASP, 2 huge jars of Hellmann’s mayonnaise!
In case you’re wondering what all the fuss about Hellmann’s mayonnaise is about (it’s supposedly American’s favorite brand of mayo), let me post the ingredients here:
Hellmann’s Real Mayo (yes, they actually call it “Real”, are they kidding?)
INGREDIENTS: SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, WHOLE EGGS AND EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, SALT, SUGAR, LEMON JUICE, NATURAL FLAVORS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA (USED TO PROTECT QUALITY).
Soybean oil? Natural flavors? Calcium Disodium EDTA?
I almost cried in my soup. How could any French Chef worth his salt buy mayonnaise made with soybean oil? Soybean oil is a cheap, rancid vegetable oil that should never be ingested for any reason at any time. Even if not partially hydrogenated, soybean oil is almost assuredly GM as well as interesterified, which is arguably a method of processing edible oils that is even worse for cardiovascular health than transfats.
Natural flavors is another big one to avoid when perusing food labels to ascertain quality. The translation of “Natural Flavors” on a label is this:
“We don’t want you to know what’s really in this, so we’re just going to call it Natural Flavors and hope you gloss over it.”
On to calcium disodium EDTA .. what is this stuff anyway? It is basically a preservative that prevents spoilage from oxidation of the food molecules. Calcium disodium EDTA is an organic pollutant which breaks down in the environment into ethylenediamine triacetic acid and then diketopiperazine. Diketopiperazine is a persistent organic pollutant, similar to PCBs and DDT.
Hellmann’s Mayo: Compromise or Sell Out?
Sarah, TheHealthyHomeEconomist.com
Sources:
Environmental Engineering Science, May/June 2006
Interesterification, February 2008
I guess I’m wondering what else he didn’t tell you, if you spoke with him and where led to believe he only used real foods.
“The owner of L’Eden is also a French Chef who plans the menu and prepares the food himself. I’ve quizzed him on a couple of occasions about his Food Philosophy (oh yes, there is such a thing!), and he appears careful and thoughtful about the food he serves his customers. He is not one to go for cheap food substitutions to boost profits. He is sincere and earnest in the practice of his craft.”
I’d have another visit, I think, to talk first and eat later — if you’re comfortable with his answers.
My DH and I don’t eat out much, but when we do we sorta know that wherever we eat it’s not going to be like home. The ingredients are going to be compromised to some degree, but sometimes you just hafta look the other way, so to speak. It’s part of the trade-off in our new world of hybrids and gmo’s and heaven knows what else is on our plates. Sometimes even organic isn’t to be trusted unless you grow it/make it yourself. It’s a shame, but that DOES seem to be the way it is now. And even that is questionable unless you know about the actual seeds you’re starting with. A person can drive themselves crazy with this subject if you get too carried away. This is what I tell everyone I know (who is even moderately interested in good food and good health): do the best you can to use and find good foods and good food sources, but don’t obsess to the point of agonizing.
I’m on the go back and ask team…what’s it going to hurt.
I would like to know the best options for store bought alternatives. I know it doesn’t take any time to make it yourself but I don’t feel like I use it enough to make and waste it. ( can you add whey and ferment home made mayo?).
I SO admire your commitment to yourself and your family via your no compromise approach to what goes into your body. I strive to achieve half of what you have.
Thanks for fighting the fight!
kelly, you can add whey to the mayo – it will last longer, will be thicker and will supply probiotics. You just have to make sure to leave it on the counter once you finish the mayo for about 7 hours and then store in the fridge. The Nourishing traditions has this recipe – page 137. She adds 1 tablespoon of whey to a recipe of mayo with 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk.
YES! Add the whey to any recipe for mayo. I add it to Julia Child’s and it thickens it nicely and it keeps much longer than without.
I say it’s totally a SELL-OUT! Please go back and ask the chef! He is claiming to only serve REAL FOOD but it sounds like he may have sold his soul instead. We make your mayo recipe all the time – it doesn’t take any time. Kinda makes me wonder how many OTHER things he’s substituting.
Definitely go back! Just ask which items he uses the mayo in and avoid those.
He could certainly make his own, or at least use Hain’s Safflower mayo, which at least isn’t made with soy oil. This is the mayo I use if I can’t afford a better one. Right now I have a good stock of Wilderness Family Naturals mayo made with olive oil, sesame oil, and coconut oil (Mary Enig’s oil blend). It it fantastic. Sometimes they have a two for one deal and I stock up.
I would talk to him about it. If customers don’t speak up, producers/servicers don’t know what we want.
Jill, this is the only one I see on our shelves regular super market and natural foods store that doesn’t have bad oil. I’ll buy it if I need it and haven’t made my own. Sarah, why sunflower oil? Is safflower okay? I’ve used a combo of safflower and olive oil. I also use Julia Child’s mayo recipe and add the whey like NT says too.
I totally agree with Mr. Fishman…go back and ask the chef.
I agree – go back & ask the chef.
And – if there are foods there that have only real food ingredients, I think you should consider going back, but eating only those.
I love French food!
It is definitely a sell out, but I agree with the previous commenter that you should go back and ask about the mayo. If people seem concerned he may go back to make his own (if he ever did). I don’t understand why he would buy pre-made, ok yes, money and time is probably an issue, but I have been to France many times. The impression I got from the French chefs is that they don’t compromise when it comes to food and ingredients.
If this is a favorite, I would ask the chef directly if and why he is using a factory mayonnaise with soy. Not only is soybean oil something that I would never knowingly eat, it is almost certainly made from genetically modified soy.To me, the use of a product full of gmo Soy is absolutely not acceptable. A french chef should make his own mayonnaise from the best ingredients. If he does not agree to make his own, I would stop going there., and tell him why. I have questioned chefs and cooks about ingredients on many occasions, and they always justify their use of factory ingredients by saying they cannot afford to do otherwise. If we accept that excuse, they will just continue to use the cheaper factory ingredients.
The decline in the quality of restaurant food is appalling.
I was successful in getting one place to stop using canola oil and switch to unrefined coconut oil. But that was the only success.
I’m betting that I will be in the minority, but I will say that you should go back. Ask the chef about the mayo. I am betting if you (and others) were to show and interest/concern, the chef would likely make his own. Or maybe there is a commercial brand that is substantially better?
Tim, I agree with you. If we walked away from every business or individual who wasn’t serving up perfect real food meals, we’d be a pretty lonely group. I say show your support for what he’s doing right, and then maybe you’ll have the opportunity to speak with him about improvements that could be made. He might not even realize Hellman’s is a compromise. And if he doesn’t know any better, then that certainly can’t be called selling out.
I agree with Tim and Elizabeth – go back and tell him about your concerns.
Remember Sarah, “Teach, teach, teach.” 🙂
You’re so right Tim. But sometimes, I just want to eat and enjoy in peace! LOL