At the Chef's Table
Anita Lo
- Annisa
Why did you get involved with City Harvest?
Obviously, I love to feed people, which is probably a big reason any chef gets involved with City Harvest. Additionally though, food waste is something that drives me nuts. City Harvest is a wonderful organization that pairs need with surplus, making this city’s food ways more efficient, and ultimately more environmentally sound.
Why is hunger an important issue for you?
To me, food is identity, food is culture. People shouldn’t be deprived of this. I grew up in an emotionally deficient household with a plentiful table. Perhaps I’ve bought into this idea of feeding as caring.
How has your involvement with City Harvest affected your outlook on food and/or hunger in New York City?
As a high-end chef, I get caught up in trying to find the best ingredients, high food costs, and creating something different where the end result is greater than its parts. But food is a basic need and it is horrifying that people have to do without. The City Harvest events underline this fact and help to ground me in this respect.
What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday because its all about food--a celebration of simple, seasonal ingredients. When I was living in Paris during my cooking school days, my classmate Alex hosted a Thanksgiving dinner for a group of mostly American students. We had a perfectly roasted turkey, a bread stuffing larded with foie gras, a black truffle sauce and a host of glazed vegetable sides. My annual Thanksgiving meal at my house on Long Island is often based on this meal.
What is the most unusual Thanksgiving meal you’ve ever seen?
I haven't experienced any particularly unusual Thanksgiving dinners in all my years, but I've heard of things like the unfortunate "tofurkey". Why anyone would need or want to make soybeans mimic fowl when there are plenty of delicious, seasonal vegetables, is beyond me.
What is your favorite hidden gem of a restaurant in New York?
Degustacion, Sushi Azabu
What is your favorite type of food to eat?
I am an omnivore. Anything well prepared in its genre and anything new or unusual.
What is your favorite type of food to make?
I cook the way I eat.
What can you not live without in your kitchen?
My tasting spoon. It is so important to taste everything, often.
What is in your refrigerator?
Right now there’s some bottarga di muggine, some soppressata from Arthur Avenue, some thick, Salvadorean tortillas and fresh condiments.
What inspired you to focus on being a chef as a career?
I love to eat. My inner piglet wouldn’t let me do anything else.
What is it like to be a woman in a male-dominated field?
I think societal prejudices can make it harder to get ahead in this field, but I’ve done pretty well. At the same time, you sometimes get more media attention as one of the so very few.
What is your favorite junk food?
I love potato chips. But I also love all sorts of other things; I’m no snob.
You have had a lot of changes this past year with your restaurants. How has that affected your cooking, if at all?
Well, unfortunately, right now I’m cooking a lot less. It remains to be seen. Perhaps when Annisa reopens, I’ll work that much harder and be inspired to do more as I’ve realized in these past months how much I need and miss cooking.
Do you have any suggestions for people on a limited budget that would still like to enjoy a nice meal out?
There are plenty of great, inexpensive restaurants in this city to choose from. Otherwise, lunch and pre-theatre are sometimes good deals in higher end places. And cooking schools have amazing deal such as L’Ecole at the French Culinary Institute.
I am thinking about becoming a chef, what advice can you give me?
Do an internship or two in a professional kitchen first. This career is not for everybody and a week or two of seeing firsthand what the industry is like could save you thousands of dollars on cooking school by either teaching you what you need to know to succeed, or by showing you that its not your cup of tea.
What was the last best meal you had?
Hamachi crudo with fennel, tagliatelle with white Bolognese and a side of greens at L’Artusi. Or sushi at sushi azabu.
Do you cook at home? What do you make?
Yes, simple foods. Hopefully fish I’ve caught, shellfish I’ve harvested and vegetables I’ve grown on Long Island.
What would your last meal be?
A long, drawn out, multicultural affair made by the most passionate chefs and shared with close friends.
