"Beauty cuisine": Afterglo: a syntropic oasis ...

[Gifted Gourmet]

article in the Independent UK

You are unlikely to encounter a more fantastically body-conscious bunch of people anywhere outside of the fantasy island enclave of Miami Beach. "beauty cuisine" (already trademarked) is essentially a mix of every significant healthy eating movement from the last two decades, from the Montignac method to the raw food movement. Everything has a low GI, is highly alkaline (which reputedly helps regenerate cells) and packed with enzymes, minerals and antioxidants... grilled rib-eye of grass-fed bison with beet and goat cheese napoleon; sirloin of antelope with vegetable and pignoli faux ricotta tartlette, house-dried onion and tomato ...

and it is all about something termed "syntropy" which is the very antithesis of "entropy" ... the latter, entropy, in the laws of physics is a process of slowly breaking down things, even applicable to the human body.. On the other hand, syntropy creates order and regeneration of living systems, reversing entropy.

Absorb the good from the right foods, and avoid the bad which is, essentially, killing you.

Afterglow, the Miami restaurant which offers this beauty cuisine, never uses high heat in cooking because it destroys vital nutrients in the food, and yet, it is not about "raw foods" either.

#1: So, are you as anxious as I am about seeing a "before" and "after" photo of the patrons who dine at Afterglow?

#2: Think you might actively pursue the idea of beauty cuisine in both dining out and cooking at home?

#3: Just another flash in the pan (sorry for that, I had to!!)?

Share your opinions here because as Fernando Lamas on SNL used to say, "Daahling, you look absolutely mahvelous!" (air kiss here)

[Mikeb19]

Old concepts, new packaging. Just another 'theme' restaurant. At most of the restaurants I've worked in we'd have the same philosophy about ingredients (we just used more butter and foie gras). Top quality ingredients delicately cooked. He just takes it a little bit further than most.

[barolo]

There was an "Opening Soon" episode about this restaurant that was pretty entertaining: Opening Soon - Afterglo. There was the chef trying to understand what the owner meant by "beauty cuisine" and the psychic hired to drive out evil spirits residing in the space.

[Sugarella]

Beauty food and healthy food are synonymous. Foods that do the body good generally keep us good looking and/or looking and feeling younger. Regardless, any restaurant deliberately promoting good nutrition is doing a good job, in my opinion.

Case in point, I deliberately eat plenty of foods rich in essential fatty acids because it has a beautifying affect on the skin, among other physical effects not appropriate for this forum. I'm 33 but still get mistaken for a teenager often, because I still have that youngish glow in my face.

[Gifted Gourmet]

I actually thought that the idea was that Afterglow would have something which is supposed to be "unique" ... something which would act as a draw, lure, for an upscale image-conscious customer. They specifically said that there would be no use of the word "healthy" because it would conjure up thoughts of alfalfa sprouts and brown rice .. and I really found the entire idea quite fascinating .. anyone else find it so?

[mizducky]

Hmmm. The food sounds lovely, and I'm certainly rooting for anybody who sets out to demonstrate that "healthy" cuisine can also be haute cuisine. But I don't think these folks are the first or only ones working at that.

Erm, and I wasn't much of a physics student in college, but the definition of "entropy" I learned there was a bit different--clickie.

Edited March 20, 2006 by mizducky (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

But, mizducky, if one scrolls down to Rifkin's view of entropy, it says:

Entropy is a standard scientific measure of waste heat and disorder. Whenever activities consume useful energy, they produce entropy; the entropy of the world therefore increases steadily and irreversibly. Ultimately, the dissipation of useful energy will destroy the basis of life. As Rifkin says, this idea may seem too depressing to consider, but he argues that we must face the terrible facts about entropy, humanity, and the Earth.

The dissipation of useful energy will destroy the basis of life ... hence the need to "repair" before this occurs ... that was the entropy to which I thought they were referring ....

[MarketStEl]

I was going to say something smart about repealing the Second Law of Thermodynamics, but Ellen's right, it doesn't really apply here.

However, it does sound as if they are making a rather concerted--and silly, IMO--effort to repeal the laws of aging (which, come to think of it, do bear a passing resemblance to the Second Law of Thermodynamics), so the amusement factor for this place runs high.

[mizducky]

But, mizducky, if one scrolls down to Rifkin's view of entropy, it says:

Entropy is a standard scientific measure of waste heat and disorder. Whenever activities consume useful energy, they produce entropy; the entropy of the world therefore increases steadily and irreversibly. Ultimately, the dissipation of useful energy will destroy the basis of life. As Rifkin says, this idea may seem too depressing to consider, but he argues that we must face the terrible facts about entropy, humanity, and the Earth.

The dissipation of useful energy will destroy the basis of life ... hence the need to "repair" before this occurs ... that was the entropy to which I thought they were referring ....

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Erm, it also says (in the original Wikipedia article, notation to the link to Rikfin's views) that Rifkin's work is "a notorious misinterpretation of entropy".

Edited to clarify:

Entropy in physics does not mean the amount of disorder of the system. It means the amount of energy in a closed system which has become disordered and thus unavailable to that system. In the expenditure of that energy, local organization within a closed system can actually increase, as when a molten substance cools down enough to crystalize. Entropy as a concept has many popular metaphorical uses, but most I've ever come across represent a misinterpretation of its scientific meaning.

Edited March 20, 2006 by mizducky (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Returning to your regularly scheduled program:

and now we might wish to address the restaurant mentioned here and the food involved ...

To be honest, physics I just don't get whereas cooking I quite understand and enjoy ...

[bourdain]

Just finished writing a story about my Afterglo experience. Coming soon.

I did not see the "beauty sommelier" referred to in the press kit during my visit. Probably for the best.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Just finished writing a story about my Afterglo experience. Coming soon.

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Did you have someone take "before" and "after" photographs to accompany your Afterglo story?

Looking forward to reading your opinions on this place!

[malcolmjolley]

This reminds me of the Julia Child quote about ahving to eat lots of butter for the good of your hair or something to that effect.