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’d go back for sure! I’d ask him why he just doesn’t make his own- it is beyond easy and CHEAP, too!!
Sarah, I feel your pain about a beloved restaurant. I’m glad you decided to have someone ask. I would still say it’s worth it to go talk to him in person. Maybe even do an official interview for the blog.
It’s easy for us to call sellout and never go back. However, in doing so we lose the chance to influence things for the better. Even if every real foodie stops eating out, there are plenty of SAD eaters more than willing to fill our tables. If we don’t go in, ask questions, make suggestions and try to positively influence things back they way they belong things will only get worse. As someone else pointed out, there is a liability issue too. If the chef doesn’t know *where* to easily find better commercially made mayo he may not feel it’s worth it to take the risk of a lawsuit (and people *will* automatically blame the homemade mayo instead of other toxic food they may have eaten). By having open communication with these establishments we have the opportunity not only to influence the food for the better, but also educate and support the best food commercially available.
I am a food snob. I real food snob. But when I eat anything I didn’t prepared, I have to be willing to compromise or go home. I would never decline a meal prepared by a friend because it wasn’t up to my high standards. My choices for eating out are: choose the best possible location (which it sounds like this is) or cook my own dang meal!
I think you should talk to the chef, as it’s likely he doesn’t realize what he’s doing “wrong.” But you have to be willing to ask yourself: is it worth it to you to cook your own French food if you don’t like his answer? Maybe yes, maybe no. Only you can decide.
I really resonate with this reply. If I’m not eating at home (which is rare), I’m expecting to most likely make a few compromises. I always feel really lucky when I find an establishment who is doing it *mostly* right. They truly are a minority these days. Since my diet is 99% (or more) wholesome and traditional, I don’t feel like an occasional compromise will kill me (or my family).
Sadly, Sarah, your position on food (much like mine) is quite radical in this day and age. The best thing we can do is educate, for which you do an AMAZING job, and are a huge contributor. But I would have a heart attack if I stressed so terribly on the rare occasions I ate out. There’s no enjoyment in that. Finding a chef who does nearly everything right, and then not returning to the restaurant because of a compromise without sharing your feelings with the chef does him and you a disservice. You’ll never get to visit one of your favorite places (which is probably a very short list), and he’ll never know he let you down.
I also wonder if it’s because of the ‘liability’ of raw eggs. We know that raw eggs from healthy chickens don’t make you sick, but the courts/health department/lawyers of someone with ‘food poisoning’ might not. We rarely go out, but when we do I either decide to compromise or order things that are most likely to not be contaminated, also asking to see the packaging (usually for my ASD daughter on GAPS- I don’t take chances with her).
There have been many times that I’ve been told they use ‘real stock’ or ‘just beef’ or ‘butter’ but when I ask them to bring me the package there are also additives. I even ask about eggs- ‘real eggs? In a shell?’ it’s crazy that it’s come to this~!
Of course you must go back! Who will say something if you won’t? Of course he wants to please his customers.
Perhaps you should also consider opening your own restaurant!
One of my readers just emailed me and said she knows the Chef (Gerard) personally. She asked if she should email him for me. I said sure .. forward a copy of my post. I REALLY want to go back but I just can’t be eating GM soybean oil. Will let you know what happens. 🙂
Sellout. You should tell him how you feel, he might take it to heart and look for a healthier alternative. If you do go back please tell us what he says! 🙂
Of course you should go back to the restaurant, but you have to take into account the culture and laws that the business operates in.
As a registered dietitian it is obvious to me why he is using a commercial mayo. CYA – “cover your ass”. If anyone claimed they got sick from food at his restaurant and he was serving mayo made with raw eggs he would be big trouble. He would automatically be in the wrong.
Sarah, I love your blog!
Nancy
definitely go back and ask. I’m curious to hear what he has to say.
as for the name of the mayonnaise, it’s most likely called “real” because it’s “real mayo”, meaning it contains eggs, as opposed to the fake stuff that looks like mayo but doesn’t contain eggs (i.e. miracle whip). it has nothing to do with real food in the context of this blog.
i appreciate mr cobb’s philosophy 🙂