Tuesday March 13, 2001

French Cooking

You don't have to be a waiter to get tips in a restaurant. We got a few pointers in healthy eating, from two of the world's finest French chefs and we're about to pass them on to you.

Our teachers were both members of the upscale Relais and Chateaux hotel group, Daniel Boulud, who runs Daniel restaurant in New York, and his buddy Raymond Blanc, owner of the equally posh Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in England.

Now if you think French food adds up to fat, as Daniel put it, "You have the wrong impression of French cooking."

While more than 30 percent of Americans are obese, only eight percent of French people are. And their rate of heart disease is one-third what it is in America.

That's why our sample meal was tuna tartar with caviar, mullet with sun-dried tomatoes, and Raymond's trademark cafe creme.

Their tips? When it comes to butter, a little dab will do ya. Buy the food shortly before you prepare it, and keep the recipe straightforward.

So if you think French cooking can't be light, you might have to eat your words.