Introducing Edgar Steele, NFCA’s Official Chef Spokesman

One of the most proud moments of Edgar Steele’s life was the day he was promoted to Executive Assistant Weenie at Hot Dog Heaven in the small town of Amherst, Ohio. To Edgar, this promotion was a huge step in his career and represented a crucial element in his quest to prove to his high school English teacher that he was not destined to be a ferryboat captain as his professional aptitude test had suggested.

Armed with a wealth of experience in hot dog handling and a newfound passion for food, Edgar boarded a plane for New York and enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). During his two years at the CIA, Edgar took courses in pastry making, breakfast and lunch cookery, baking ingredients and equipment technology, cuisines of the Americas, Europe and Asia, food culture, specialty breads, table service, seafood and meat identification and fabrication, psychology of human behavior, restaurant law, restaurant operations, wine and food pairing, and most importantly nutrition.

Shortly after graduation, Edgar began working for Café Atlantico, a trendy restaurant in Washington, D.C. that serves “contemporary signature cuisine inspired by the Nuevo Latino style.” The kitchen is based upon cooking traditions from Latin America and the menu displays “playfulness and innovation.” www.CafeAtlantico.com

Prior to my first visit to Café Atlantico, I had already secured Edgar as one of the chef participants in the Washington, D.C. Gluten-Free Cooking Spree and I was going in to the restaurant to make sure he was legitimate and could actually cook a decent gluten-free meal…definitely wouldn’t want any bad apples at the event!!  During my visit to Café Atlantico, Edgar created a 14-course meal that was by far the most delicious and enjoyable meal I have ever eaten.

Some of the items on the menu were:

Guacamole—the best ever
Jicama and arugula salad with Cabrales cheese, corn & raspberry
Shrimp with corn puree, Mexican Cotija cheese, corn nuts and lime air
Crispy Beet Tumbleweed
Liquid Olives
Tomato Coconut Bisque with Greek Yogurt
Tuna Coconut Ceviche with Avocado
Scallop with Coconut Rice and Homemade Rice Crispies (my favorite)
Seared Salmon with cauliflower-quinoa, buttery papaya, avocado mash and papaya

After this meal, I was completely sold on Edgar participating in the event, but even more than that, I was excited and almost overwhelmed by the passion that Edgar showed for helping me find food items on his restaurant’s menu that I could eat safely. With each course that came out of the kitchen, Edgar sat down at my table and in detail explained the process for creating the dish and any changes to make it gluten-free. Not only did he share his cooking techniques to prevent contamination, but he also spent time helping me understand the chemical make-up of the food and how the sky is the limit when creating gluten-free meal options.

Although I’ve been cooking for myself for quite some time now and wrote an entire cookbook on simple, easy-to-make gluten-free recipes (Beyond Rice Cakes), this meal with Edgar was truly the first time I appreciated the delicacy of a gourmet gluten-free meal. In the past, I was always worried about having my meal contaminated or not having the time to be more innovative about my cooking, so I always ended up making basic meals that relied on the daily diet staples (meat, vegetables and a starch). Being a true culinary expert and a person with a passion for helping people eat delicious meals, Edgar quickly helped me see the light….GLUTEN-FREE FOOD CAN BE INCREDIBLE!

Following this meal, Edgar took an immediate interest in the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) and created a fantastic recipe for the cooking spree. He came up with a variety of brilliant ideas for educating chefs and spreading celiac awareness, and yes, one page into this article I am officially announcing it….Edgar Steele is the new Chef Spokesman for NFCA!!

As the NFCA Chef Spokesman, Edgar will help develop and test recipes for the next book in the Beyond Rice Cakes series, as well as help us use our vendors’ products to their highest potential. We will work together to create delicious recipes that everyone can enjoy at home. Edgar will also be featured in NFCA’s culinary video Podcast series. Most importantly, Edgar will be working directly with all of you. He will write a monthly column for the NFCA newsletter and website (www.celiaccentral.org) and maintain the “Ask-A-Chef” section of our website. This is where you come in! Anytime you have culinary questions, you can simply visit the NFCA website and write to Edgar directly. He will provide you with answers and help you with all of your gluten-free cooking needs! 

For those of you who attended the Washington, D.C. Gluten-Free Cooking Spree, you’ve had a chance to taste some of the amazing food that Edgar cooks and Café Atlantico serves. For appetizers at the event, Café Atlantico sent fried beets, tomato/mozzarella injections, jicama-wrapped guacamole, and tomato/watermelon skewers. What most of you don’t know is that I had the pleasure of spending the whole day before the cooking spree helping and watching Edgar make some of this food! To prove to everyone that you too can make this stuff, we cooked in my tiny apartment kitchen and enlisted the help of my dad (who does NOT cook).


Here is a brief Q&A with NFCA’ new Chef Spokesperson:

Q: Why did you decide to become a chef?
A: I love to cook!


Q: What was your first reaction when I asked you about the Gluten-Free Cooking Spree?
A: My first thought was no starch including rice, bread and potatoes. But I ran downstairs and looked it up on the computer and realized that I had heard of it before. In my nutrition class, we learned what gluten is, but not about how to help people with celiac eat at a restaurant. Although the 10am wine tasting class was definitely my favorite culinary class, the most important was nutrition because it should have taught me to cook for all body types. I didn’t learn about celiac and I should have. It is so important for chefs to understand eating with celiac disease, as well as other food allergies—so important that there should be a whole class on this.

Q: There are hundreds of food allergies. Why were you so interested in gluten and celiac disease?
A: The people. Over the last month, I’ve met so many people with celiac disease and it has been incredible to see their passion and desire for food. I can’t imagine spending my life worrying that the food I eat will make me sick. I love knowing that I can make people food that is safe for their body and will keep them healthy.


Q: Is gluten-free cooking difficult or can any chef do it?
A: EVERY chef can cook gluten-free. They just have to realize that they can. I think the Gluten-Free Cooking Sprees have been an amazing way to educate the culinary community and help chefs figure out that gluten-free cooking is easy. As the awareness continues to grow, chefs will also realize more that they need to be more proactive about accommodating people with celiac.

To ask Edgar your questions, please visit www.CeliacCentral.org

And…make sure to go eat at Café Atlantico!!

Café Atlantico 
405 8th Street NW
Washington, DC 20004
tel: (202) 393-0812

Comments

[Lorrie]

hi...my friend jackie & Candy mentioned you to us here in florida....we are attempting to change our diet to gluten free products and foods....since we both have the symptoms of celiac disease....if you can ...please..send us some information, recepes, and products that we both may use....we would appreciate any help you can indroduce us to...thanks....Lorrie (Port Richey, Fla. 727 267 2106