An interview with Jamie:
15 Minutes With… Jamie LaurenWhen we heard that Absinthe Brasserie Jamie Lauren was going to be Honorary Chair for the Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board’s pre-launch party on January 16, we immediately jumped at the chance to do an item on her.
She is not only the sole Bay Area contestant of Bravo’s “Top Chef” this season, but would truly be the new star chef of San Francisco with or without a major national TV show behind her.
In the middle of her hectic schedule of work and travel, she was able to squeeze in a quick chat with SFLuxe’s Damion Matthews, and we’re delighted that she did.
Damion: So, Jamie, how have the last few months been for you since “Top Chef” started airing? Was it what you were expecting?
Jamie: I think I was expecting more. It hasn’t been as bad as I thought it was going to be, which is good.
D: That’s good!
Jamie: But it’s changed a little bit. Being recognized is kind of strange. But I work at the restaurant, so it just kind of stays the same.
D: I think in New York or LA it might be different, but in San Francisco we like to pretend we don’t care about who’s on TV.
Jamie: Totally. I think that’s totally true. I’m actually going to New York soon, and I’m interested to see what’s going to happen when I get there. I think it might be a little different.
D: Do you find that even more people are going to Absinthe because of your involvement on the TV show?
Jamie: I don’t think so. People are just coming in as they always have. I mean, we’re getting some people that are noticing. It’s starting to happen more now that we’re a few weeks into it.
D: It might take time for local viewers of the show to realize you’re right here, and then they’ll all want to sample your cooking. But it will take time for that to build.
Jamie: Yeah, I’m sure it will. And it’s going to be weird, probably.
D: How long have you been at Absinthe?
Jamie: I’ve been here a year and a half.
D: What is the most popular dish?
Jamie: There are a few. I would say probably the pork confit or the beef cheeks are our two most popular dishes.
D: Are those your favorites as well?
Jamie: Not necessarily. Those are just the two dishes that really sell.
D: In the food world is it generally a chef’s goal to open her own restaurant? Is that something you’d like to do?
Jamie: I think it depends on the chef. I don’t know if that’s something I necessarily want to do, just because it involves a lot of money and it’s very high risk. It also involves a lot of your time. Sometimes it’s kind of nice to do it on somebody else’s dime.
D: Yes!
Jamie: And in my future I’d really like to travel, and if I owned my own restaurant I think that would make it really difficult to do that.
D: Speaking of travel — you’ve worked in New York, France, and also Santa Fe?
Jamie: Yes, I worked in Santa Fe.
D: How do all of the cities compare to San Francisco?
Jamie: They’re all really different. Santa Fe is a great food city, but it’s very southwestern. It’s all New Mexican food. They’re all different in their own way. But they’re all really food oriented. Santa Fe is really small, and everybody knows everybody, which is kind of annoying. But it’s very progressive, which was cool. I mean, it’s in the middle of the desert, but it’s this very progressive little town. And I learned a lot about southwestern cooking, which was really neat. But being here in the Bay Area, I think, is really one of the best places you can cook in the world.
D: Is this your favorite place, so far?
Jamie: For cooking, yeah. It’s not my favorite place to live. I miss New York.
D: You love New York?
Jamie: A lot. I grew up there, so it’s a hard adjustment.
D: In San Francisco, I’ve noticed there are just a few high-profile women who are executive chefs, but I wonder if you feel it’s still a male world?
Jamie: There are quite a few really well known female chefs, but they’re sort of a generation ahead of me. Because I’m 31, and most of those women, like Elizabeth Falkner, Traci Des Jardins, Pamela Mazzola and Nancy Oakes, they’re all in their late 40s. So I think in terms of my age bracket I don’t think there’s a lot of chefs out there that are women. I think I’m one of the only ones, actually.
D: I bet that the prominence on “Top Chef” of a lot of women — it seems 50/50 — will have an impact on that in the future.
Jamie: I have no idea. I definitely think that a lot of people watch shows like “Top Chef”, and even things on the Food Network, and they’re wanting to get into the food industry. But I think a lot of people who want to get into the industry who are young look at getting into it for celebrity, and fail to realize how difficult it really is, or how much you have to work to get to that point.
D: I’ve heard you work really long hours at the restaurant. It sounds grueling.
Jamie: It is. That’s a chef’s life.
D: Something that’s been fun to watch since the show aired is that you’ve become very prominent because you’re lesbian.
Jamie: Yes.
D: You’re like a big hit on various gay and lesbian websites!
Jamie: I am? Which ones are you talking about exactly!? (Laughing)
D: Was it something you…
Jamie: It was never my intention. I mean obviously, being a queer woman, I wasn’t going to hide that from television. But that wasn’t the reason I went on the show, or anything like that. I think it’s great, but at the same time — and I’ve said this a lot — I’m a chef, first. And being lesbian is just part of who I am. It doesn’t define me as a chef. But I think it’s cool. Whoever can get inspiration from it, I’m okay with it.
D: Becoming a role model is not something I think people ever necessarily aspire to, but when it happens to good people who are not in it for just getting more fame or power, that’s very exciting. So we’ll see how that goes!
Jamie: Yeah, I have no idea how that’s going to go. I’m definitely seeing little things here and there. At least getting flirted with by a lot more girls than I was before, which is kind of interesting. But whatever I can do to support the community, I will.
D: Have you been involved in gay and lesbian causes in the past?
Jamie: Every year I used to do the Academy of Friends event, which is a big AIDS event here. And I always do the AIDS walk and that kind of stuff. But aside from that, no.
D: Now that you’re more prominent, you’ll probably be getting a lot of requests to lend your name and help out with important causes.
Jamie: Yes.
D: I know you’re the Honorary Chair for “The Epi Party,” an upcoming event by the Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board, to bring awareness to the problem of food allergies and the importance of knowing how to use an Epi Pen. Do you encounter the problem of food allergies a lot in your work?
Jamie: Oh, absolutely! At least twice a day.
D: Twice a day? Wow. What do you find is the most common allergy problem?
Jamie: Usually it’s some sort of a nut allergy. But a lot of people seem to be allergic to garlic and onions around here. And I don’t know how much of that is it’s an allergy or it’s just a distaste for those things and they pretend it’s an allergy. But I take all of it seriously.
D: You’re not allergic to onions, I take it?
Jamie: Oh god, are you kidding? No. I think I would kill myself if I was.
D: I’ve heard you like a lot of Indian food, and spicy…
Jamie: I do, yes. So if I didn’t have onions in my life I’d be very sad.
D: Is it tough for a chef to come up with dishes that are really safe for people of all kinds of allergies?
Jamie: I don’t cook a lot with nuts. When I started here they were frying with peanut oil, which was the oil they actually had in the fryer. And I was like, I don’t know why we’re using peanut oil, because so many people are allergic to nuts. So I immediately switched that. But aside from that, I don’t cook with nut oils, because I know so many people can have a reaction.
D: Also dairy is a big one that people have problems with.
Jamie: Yeah. Dairy is a little bit harder because I do cook a lot with butter. But I can leave it out if somebody asks me to.
D: You’re a fan of butter?
Jamie: Yeah. Well, I work in a French restaurant.
D: Before I go, there was one more thing I had to ask you about since I read you’re a big fan of Madonna.
Jamie: I am. Since I was five.
D: That’s an interesting influence on a five-year-old girl.
Jamie: Mm, hmmm.
D: Well one of the things that’s interesting about her is her diet.
Jamie: Yeah, she has a very strange… from what I understand, she’s macrobiotic. She doesn’t eat anything else. All I’ve ever wanted to do is cook for her.
D: That should be a Top Chef challenge. What would you cook for Madonna?
Jamie: I have no idea! I would probably make her a cheeseburger.
D: A cheeseburger!
Jamie: A really good one.
D: Hopefully that won’t be a Top Chef challenge, because you might lose that one!
Jamie: Yeah, I probably would.
D: Well, you’ve been doing so well on the show, I will definitely look forward to watching more. I know we’re all rooting for you in San Francisco!
Link: http://sfluxe.com/2008/12/23/15-minutes-with-jamie-lauren/