Photograph by Katherine Bish
Anyone who owns a fridge knows that high school boys like to eat, but how many of them actually know how to cook? The Mothers in Servitude organization attests that there aren't many, but we know there's at least one. Brett Eisen loves to cook but has little time to practice the art. He did manage to enter — and win — the 2008 Johnson & Wales National High School Chef of the Year competition and soon will leave for Denver with the grand prize: a full, four-year J&W scholarship. Before heading west, he shared some youthful wisdom with SLM. Did he cook anything for us? Nah, the kid was busy ... with summer break.
You just graduated. What's up this summer? I'll be too busy traveling to cook. And since I'll be doing it for the rest of my life, this summer's my little recess. I do get to work with Tyler Florence for a day in New York, which could mean an appearance on the Food Network.
How old were you when you knew your career path? My fifth-grade teacher recently sent me one of my old papers where I said I wanted to be a chef when I grew up. And I grew up watching the Food Network. Top Chef is my favorite show on TV.
Who's your favorite celebrity chef? It's actually Guy Fieri. All my friends like him as well. Since I won the contest all my friends are suddenly into the cooking shows.
Any inspiration come from home? Both my mom and dad are great cooks. If I was home more, I'd cook more, but I'm involved with athletics. When I do cook, it's usually for me and at a weird time.
Do your brothers and sisters cook? My older brother actually has to start cooking this year because he just got his own house; all of the sudden he's been asking a lot of questions. And I think I may be inspiring my younger sister as well.
What specifically do you like to cook? Meats, fish, vegetables? Really anything, as long as it's healthy. I like to open up the fridge and see what I can come up with. I never follow recipes. I just cook.
Do you look at cookbooks at all? Never. That's what I like about cooking: You can be as creative as you want. It suits me well — never was big on following directions.
Do you have a favorite dish? Yeah, the dish that won me that scholarship: sea bass with Israeli couscous and a vanilla-tangerine reduction. Jon Lowe [at Oceano] was a tremendous help teaching me how to develop it.
Do you lean toward any particular spices? Not really, but I am good at combining them. I can taste which ones go together.
I know you're trying to combine your interest in sports with your interest in cooking. What got me really interested was reading about the traveling chef for the Green Bay Packers. He knows the science of nutrition as well as how to cook. That's what I want to do.
Are there actually chefs who travel with athletic teams? That's a cool niche. There are, and more teams are looking in that direction. I can't see myself in the same restaurant day in and day out. I want to cook — and travel.
Any specific team or sport? My goal is to work for an NBA basketball team, so I'm shooting for an internship with the Denver Nuggets.
Does Johnson and Wales teach the science of cooking along with the techniques of cooking? That's why I chose them. It's a four-year culinary university that also has a great food nutrition program. For me, the science is as important as the creativity. And at J&W, you can learn to cook but not miss out on the whole college atmosphere.
You're a graduating senior. As a parting gift, any suggestions how to improve cafeteria food? I don't eat at my school cafeteria, but in general, they need to create more healthy items and use less fat: Hamburgers become turkey burgers; pizzas, use less cheese and crust; chili, use chicken; chicken fingers, bake 'em. Tacos? Serve un-fried quesadillas instead. Every day the special is a fried food. Change that to something baked. Salad bars, soup bars, smoothie bars — they should all be there. Most school menus need to be completely rewritten.
I hope they're listening. I'd remodel the kitchen and the whole eating environment, make it more conducive to dining. Design a more pleasant experience — and take out those fryers. Or you can always pack a healthy lunch at home. That's what I do.
Kids consume a lot of drinks ... sweet drinks. What do you drink? Something my friends continually give me [a hard time] about and won't even touch: seltzer. Carbonated water.
With lemon or lime? Nope. Straight. I love carbonation. And we have a carbonator at my house.
Have your parents been supportive of the whole "chef" thing? They've always been supportive. And hey, I'm the High School Chef of the Year — they're cool with that. I'm also going to college for free.
