Chicago Sun-Times, www.suntimes.com
Lavender springs forth
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.