CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Scott Uehlein; gazpacho; strawberry chicken
For those not interested in sacrificing great tasting food in order to look (and feel) their best, chef Scott Uehlein, corporate chef for Canyon Ranch, offers the perfect solutions. With a focus on simplicity and a balance of flavors—and the use of locally grown produce and artisanal ingredients—he turns out irresistible dishes that won’t sabotage good nutritional intentions.
The New Jersey native, now located in Arizona at Canyon Ranch’s original outpost, returns to the East Coast to cook for Chefs & Champagne, a fundraiser for the James Beard Foundation on July 24 featuring more than 30 accomplished chefs at the Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. Chef Uehlein—who will represent Canyon Ranch Living Miami Beach at this weekend’s event—lets us in on how he was inspired to become a chef, how we can make the most of healthy cooking and what he’s looking forward to experiencing in the Hamptons.
HAMPTONS: How did you first become interested in cooking?
SCOTT UEHLEIN: My mom is a good cook, my aunt is a great cook, and so I was always around good cooks. My mom, a couple of years ago, came across a Polaroid picture of me when I was three years old dressed up as a chef for Halloween. Frankly, I wasn’t interested in a whole lot of other things.
Why is cooking healthy food one of your top priorities?
It wasn’t always. When I interviewed with Canyon Ranch, I felt that it was a good time to be thinking about healthy food because you could almost see the pendulum swinging in the other direction. It’s more of a challenge to make the food taste great.
How is using locally grown foods an important step toward improving the healthfulness of meals?
Health and wellness for the environment as well as for your body are not mutually exclusive. It’s about supporting and encouraging the local, small-time farmer.
What would you tell a novice chef who’s looking to make healthier food?
If we were to spray oil, instead of pouring or ladling oil, you would cut down on a lot of calories. So buy a sauté pan that has a nice thick bottom so the heat distributes evenly. Cold spots on a pan are what cause sticking. If you don’t have any cold spots on the pan, you don’t need as much oil.
How do you maintain flavor?
I try not to reinvent classics unless I feel that it’s as good as or better than the original. Always balance the flavors, making sure that there are elements of sweet, sour, bitter and salty in the dish itself.
What do you have planned for Chefs & Champagne?
We’re going to shave Colonel Newsom’s artisanal prosciutto very thinly and pair it with roasted pineapple. We’re dressing it with just a tiny bit of rosemary oil, a little bit of cracked black pepper and some basil microgreens. The key is very, very simple—showcasing what is there.
