According to lauded historian, Yuval Noah Harari, we are living for the first time in an age when more people die of eating too much than eating too little. But you don't have to be an historian to know that, living in the first world, it is impossible to remain indifferent to the issue of weight.  

The constant bombardment from fashion magazines and television shows, like “The Biggest Loser,” show us constantly the ideal model of body we should expose to the world.

To the chef of a white-tablecloth French restaurant in the posh suburb of Winnetka, that issue is especially, er, biting. 

Chef Michael Lachowicz has recently gone through a metamorphosis both in his body and in his eponymous Restaurant Michael. The once 432-pound chef has lost 200 lbs without any surgery.

“I decided to get clean,” admits Lachowicz whose weight ballooned as a result of alcohol and opiate addictions about which he speaks openly. “And I dropped the weight as a byproduct of that.”

The business of being a chef is not a cake walk. The daily stresses, the competition, the adrenalin rush of a crowded dining room full of hungry patrons is daunting to anyone. But to the chef who freely admits that his “drug of choice is ‘more,’ the addiction part was translatable to more than just food; it was a lifestyle.

“All my bad behavior was driven by fear. Fear of not meeting expectations. Of not being seen the way I want to be seen. Of not being able to achieve my goals,” said Lachowicz who used to hop on his motorcycle after ‘4-5 double Scotches and a handful of pills,’ wearing his chef whites, because that was all that would fit his 6X-sized frame, and his staff didn’t know if they would ever see him again.

“My staff carried me and the entire restaurant for three or four years when I got into that active addiction.”

Today, Lachowicz stays in a 12-step program to keep himself in check. On St. Patrick’s Day it was the 6-year anniversary of Lachowicz’s transformation which was featured in People Magazine’s January 23 issue on chefs who are half their size.

Just as when he was down and virtually dragged his restaurant with him, so too did Lachowicz restore more than just his own health when he transformed; he reinvented the menu at Restaurant Michael, paring down both fat and calories. He kept the white tablecloths.

“The Flavor Fit menu is based on my metamorphosis, my evolution over the last six years,” said Lachowicz.

Smoke and Mirrors

The healthful new menu is all under 800 calories and less than 28 grams of fat for a 3-course menu. The offerings are all Prix Fixe, though ala cart items are also available at a variable rate and calorie count. Patrons can enjoy a 2-course menu for $48, 3-course for $63 or a 4-course menu for $69. There is also a 3-course Bistro menu for $42, or ala cart.

Some stand-out items include the terrine of mushrooms and artichoke in an edible ‘naturemort' comprised of roasted eggplant wrapped in leak, micro vein sorrel sourced locally from Nichols farms; caramelized pear, pickled spring onions, toasted pecans and preserved tomato all dotted in rosemary olive oil and an herb syrup (135 calories, 5.5 grams of fat).

 The dish starts out cold so that all the flavors are subdued but, as it warms, it melts into your palate and becomes an explosion of flavors. “There is lots of Ying and Yang in this terrine,” said Lachowicz of the dish which can be a metaphor for himself. 

With it, Lachowicz wants to say to patrons: “Listen, you can do this. You can have a wonderful experience, have three courses doing it and not feel guilty afterwards.” The Flavor Fit menu, it turns out, is an elegant way of introducing people to a white tablecloth experience but without guilt.

Everything Old Is New Again

“We’re damned with this ‘butter, butter, cream, cream, butter, butter, cheese’,” he sing-songs, underscoring the notion that French food’s image is one of being wholly unhealthy. “It’s not the case.”

Lachowicz and other chefs interested in continuing the classic French method and technique have evolved, he insists. “And if you don’t evolve, you die.”

 Just like himself, today's successful chefs understand that guests are concerned nowadays about the myriad paths they choose for their food intake.

Lachowicz hopes to deliver the message that French food can change with the modern palate. “We stay true to French food but recreate (it) in a more current vernacular; make it more contemporary.”

The Long View

Absent the chemical stimuli, Lachowicz gets that euphoric feeling these days only when he simply cooks. “Not expedite, not manage. Just cook.” And he takes it day by day, both at work and at home. 

“It’s always a work in progress…but that’s ok because it keeps me motivated,” said Lachowicz.