July 21, 2005
Executive chef Michael Schwartz crafts entrees designed to leave an afterglo
Miami, FL-You'd be hard-pressed to find a rack of lamb purer than the cuts gourmet chef Michael Schwartz prepares.
The
same can be said for the salmon, scallops and vegetarian dishes
Schwartz creates at afterglo, a South Beach restaurant pioneering an
innovative cuisine that is designed to beautify the body inside and
out, by creating cellular health. Our bodies are composed of as many as
60 trillion individual cells.
Backed by scientific research,
afterglo's beauty cuisine concept calls for more than organic products.
For Schwartz, it means building entire entr¨¦es using the most honest
and natural foods and spices the world has to offer.
Conceived
by South Beach restaurateur Tim Hogle, the ingredients for beauty
cuisine hinge upon three key ideas: scientific parameters, a strict
food sourcing plan and inventive gentle cooking techniques.
For
Schwartz and Hogle, fashioning the concept into beautifying and
appetizing entrees required careful experimentation and study.
The duo began the process by identifying foods that contained
beautifying elements, such as anti-inflammatory foods, enzymes and
antioxidants that regenerate cells, increase brainpower, help digestion
and promote radiant beauty.
While uncovering each food's
beautifying elements posed a formidable challenge for the two, locating
the ingredients in their most pristine form proved even more daunting.
For
example, the lamb served at afterglo feeds in pastures on New Zealand's
untainted mountainsides. A farm in Homestead, Florida grows organic
vegetables exclusively for afterglo.
"We are featuring meats
from wild game that thrive on their natural diet because they contain a
higher level of Omega 3 essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals
than domesticated product," Schwartz said. "We are emphasizing fresh
and locally-grown organic ingredients rather than shipping ingredients
in from across the country."
The final step fell solely on
Schwartz's shoulders. He had to develop inventive techniques to obtain
the maximum flavor and retain the beautifying nutrients of the wild
seafood and game and organic vegetable dishes which are often destroyed
through conventional cooking.
"We are doing all our own sprouting and dehydrating rather than using aggressive cooking techniques," Schwartz said.
"Unnecessary
high heat is also avoided while preparing all of the wild seafood and
game dishes so that that the integrity of these high quality proteins
is maintained and the essential beautifying nutrients are preserved,"
states Schwartz.
Schwartz and Hogle's work has resulted in a
culinary breakthrough that is designed to combat a law of physics that
continuously diminishes a person's physical appearance, vitality and
health.
Known as entropy, the scientific principle says that
natural physical laws cause everything to fall apart, including the
human body. The beauty cuisine at afterglo is high in a vital force
called "syntropy." Syntropy works in direct opposition to entropy
by creating more order, symmetry and regeneration in living systems,
ultimately, reversing entropy.
For Schwartz, an acclaimed chef
who worked alongside celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck and served as owner
and chef of South Beach restaurants Nemo, Big Pink and Shoji Sushi,
this culinary venture is distinctly different from anything he has ever
attempted before.
"I have long known about the benefits of
consuming these kinds of foods," he said, "but this concept is
approaching a completely new level. It requires me to rethink the way I
source, receive, treat and prepare food."
While afterglo's
beauty cuisine offers patrons a totally new dining experience, Schwartz
believes he and Hogle are providing more than a breakthrough cuisine.
"Beauty
cuisine extends beyond the four walls of this restaurant," Schwartz
said. "We haven't just created a restaurant, we're establishing a
lifestyle."
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Media Contact:
Krista Zilizi
Quantified Marketing Group
(706) 627-3204
(407) 936-1010
kzilizi@quantifiedmarketing.com
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