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Chicago Sun-Times, www.suntimes.com
Lavender springs forth
April 16, 2003
BY ANDREA HANIS
Little girls and old ladies are pleased
by the color. Stressed-out women are soothed
by the relaxing scent in bath and body
products--while men are turned on by it.
And now chefs are being stimulated by
lavender, the aromatic flower-herb that
flavors a crop of springtime treats at
restaurants and cafes.
According to online supplier Lavender
Central, lavender is a recognized treatment
for restlessness, insomnia, abdominal
complaints, rheumatism--and, oh, yes,
one more thing--loss of appetite. Hmmm.
These chefs could be on to something.
We sensed a trend when served a lovely
Lavender Earl Grey tea at the Four Seasons,
followed by a nibble of a friend's blueberry-lavender
cookie at Julius Meinl, the Austrian coffeehouse.
The sensory pleasure quickly morphs into
a craving, as the herb tickles the palate
at a tantalizing junction of taste and
smell. "It's obviously floral and herbal,
but it's also earthy,'' says Keegan Gerhard,
pastry chef for the Four Seasons Chicago
Hotel, who makes liberal use of lavender
for spring. "It has a huge flavor profile.''
The Lavender Earl Grey is made by a company
called T (www.tealeaves.com) and is described
as "a well-balanced black tea scented
with oil of bergamot and perfumed with
the finest lavender.''
And Gerhard has created three lavender
desserts for the spring menu: almond milk
lavender flan, served with roasted strawberries
and lavender essence; a vanilla buttermilk
panna cotta with strawberry lavender sorbet,
served with lavender blossoms, and lavender
and marshmallow mignardises, or bite-sized
pastries. "For me it's just sort of something
that puts you at ease,'' Gerhard says.
"It's a nurturing sort of thing. It's
delicate and light; it's unusual but it's
familiar, and it's intriguing to people
because some of the comfort idea that
you get is like being nurtured in more
of a spa way. . . .
The intrigue is that it's something they
know, but they're having it in a different
way.'' Where to find it: Tea and desserts.
Blueberry-lavender cookies. Julius Meinl,
3601 N. Southport, (773) 868-1857.
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