Cooking Light
Tastes for Life
When Drew Nieporent began to focus on healthful foods, so did the chefs and clients of his influential restaurants
by Marge Perry
May 2003
When Drew Nieporent belted out the rock classic, "Taking Care of Business," onstage at last year's James Beard Awards, his high energy struts and leaps didn't just rev up the audience. The performance also amazed the hundreds of people there who knew that, only a year earlier, merely walking across a room might have left the restaurateur short of breath.
Nieporent (pronounced knee-POUR-ent) had--and still has--much to sing about. High on the list is his greatly improved health, the result of having lost 135 pounds during the last year. "I have a big appetite for everything; I have big dreams," Nieporent says. "The excuse I used [for the weight] was that I'm supposed to try everything and know everything." In fact, as the mastermind and personality behind some of the country's top eateries, Nieporent spends long hours--and eats all of his meals--in his restaurants.
And not just any restaurants. His establishments include New York City's much celebrated Nobu, Tribeca Grill, and Montrachet. With them, Nieporent helped define a new era of dining by serving innovative haute cuisine in a casual, hip atmosphere. In the process of creating a template for American restaurant fare, he tasted constantly. The chefs at his restaurants cooked him luscious lunches and dinners; in between, he sampled their proposed menu additions. As his success grew, so did his waistline.
Nieporent's charismatic personality and magnanimous spirit seemed inextricably linked to his large build. But when a friend convinced him to seek help at Minnesota's Mayo Clinic, doctors there were so concerned about his weight that they wanted to staple his stomach. Nieporent refused, certain that the same will that had helped him create his restaurants would once again serve him well. He went home determined to lose the weight and regain his health.
Back in New York, his first order of business was to talk to his chefs about preparing food for him. "I asked them to use less fat--cream, butter, and oil--and sodium," he remembers. "To lose weight, I had to cut my overall intake, but I could eat some of everything. I wanted to focus on the pleasure of a juicy summer peach, the perfection in a spear of asparagus."
The chefs at Nieporent's restaurants saw the suggested changes differently. For Harold Moore--the classically trained star chef formerly of Montrachet--there was a learning curve with which to contend. "It is intimidating to try cooking a whole new way for your boss," Moore says. "I had to use as little fat as possible. When I first started cooking this way, I said, 'This is garbage, and I am capable of better.' Then I learned to infuse my steaming liquids with aromatics like star anise, lemon, basil, and ginger; I learned to put fish on a bed of something that would impart flavors." All this, Moore says, helped him to create dishes that were eventually included on his sophisticated French menu--and not under the label "spa food."
Chef Stephen Lewandowski of Tribeca Grill--a restaurant as well known for its celebrity sightings as for its great food--also learned to add flavor, color, and nutrition to the plate in new ways. "I was influenced by Drew's changes," Lewandowski says. "He'd come in the kitchen and ask me to focus on fresh herbs, acids, and simple grills. I looked to vegetables and vegetable juices, fruits, fat alternatives like avocado, and flavored oils for impact.
"One day," Lewandowski remembers, "Drew walked through the kitchen as I was making a Tuscan white bean salad. He asked what was in it, tasted it, and loved it. I served it to him for lunch with salmon--that dish is now a top-selling menu item," The bright flavor of the lemon, the peppery bite of arugula, the creaminess of the beans, and the richness of the salmon make the dish exciting, balanced, and lushly satisfying. It's a terrific example of the way Nieporent's palate and sensibility have influenced the kind of fare diners are offered--and, consequently, the healthful choices they are able to make.
As we sit at a front table of the Tribeca Grill, almost everyone who passes greets Nieporent. "I guess I was caught in a cycle," he says, between nods and waves. "I needed to slow down and take stock. When I improved my health, I also improved the relationships around me. Now I can join in when my family skis. The simplest things are a lot easier." He smiles, then adds, "And I even bought a pair of sneakers, so I can move around a lot more."
Nieporent can now be spotted walking between his city restaurants several times a day.
"Things have been easier because I'm surrounded by healthy, nutritious food," he says. "I just needed to get control of my volume and make more sensible choices. The food I eat now is as good as its always been--it's just healthier." His face transforms as his trademark smile spreads large across it. "I feel good!" Nieporent declares.