She shares her lessons about life and food

Chef Jennifer Lamplough's enthusiasm for life and food is contagious, infecting anyone who sits down to hear her story.

Current associate dean and chef instructor at Robert Morris College Institute of Culinary Arts in Chicago, Aurora and Orland Park, she basks in the light of teaching and learning.

Originally from Merrillville, Ind., she attended Indiana University in Bloomington and graduated with a journalism degree. After working as a reporter in northwest Indiana, she moved to Chicago in 1997 to work as a communications specialist for the National Futures Association. During her six-year tenure with the association, she started and completed culinary school.

"While I was working downtown, I would see culinary students walking to class in their checkered pants and chef coats and I always had this longing to be in their shoes," she says.

Her previous endeavors and goals as a writer were not eclipsed by her career change. She collaborated with a childhood friend and wrote two cookbooks for the American Diabetes Association, "Healthy Calendar Diabetic Cooking" and "Healthy Carb Diabetes Cookbook," published earlier this year.

She lives in Batavia with her husband of one year and is pursuing her MBA.

Where did your curiosity for the food industry come from? I can attribute my start in the industry to making ice cream bars. My parents owned a Dairy Queen and when I was 12 years old I was making Dilly Bars. But my professional culinary career began when I was executive chef at Marketplace working 60-70 hours a week and being outside catering and working parties. It was then I realized there was something else I needed to be doing with my culinary degree, and that was teaching.

Why did you want to write a book concerning the diabetic diet? I formed this list of 50 things I want to do before I die and writing a book was on it. I don't have diabetes, but my mom does and my family has a long history of it. My friend, Lara Rondinelli, is a certified dietitian and diabetes educator and I am a culinary major, so we went down that path naturally. I am very passionate about the subject because I feel this disease is preventable and manageable with a balanced diet and ample exercise.

It has become an epidemic, and I feel strongly about educating people about it. I feel it is incumbent upon culinary educators, such as myself, to take as much responsibility to learn about the subject as it is to teach students and others about pursuing a healthy lifestyle.

What's the most important thing to keep in mind when cooking for a diabetic? Of course monitor the salt and sugar, but more importantly, keep a balance between carbs, proteins, vegetables and fruits. I would like to change the common mindset that you're limited to boiled chicken. People with diabetes can have great-tasting food that is healthy and they don't have to be deprived.

What topics did you want to include in the second book? The first book gave cooks a year of loosely planned meals. We tried to keep recipes seasonal and give flexibility to cooks with ingredients and themes. Since the first was a best-seller from the American Diabetes Association, they approached us to write another. We already had the idea of presenting readers with alternatives and better ways to eat carbs. We wanted it to be more from a dietitian's perspective. We wanted readers to understand that it is OK to eat carbs, there are no bad carbs, just healthier options.

Did you prepare all the recipes at home? We tested every recipe. For the first book, we would have taste-testing parties. We would have a huge spread of dishes and our friends would come over and try everything and tell us what they thought. For the second book, I had students and my husband taste-test some of the recipes.

Who inspires you in the industry? Jacques Pepin, I would love to meet him and I would've loved to have met Julia Child. I love Jacques' style; it is classic yet straightforward. I love that Julia was always showcasing the main ingredient, and that it should stand on their own.

What do you enjoy most about your career now? Definitely working with students. I am my happiest when I am teaching. I love my students and there is nothing like giving them techniques and tools and seeing that light bulb go off in their heads. I hope that when they are using the tools that I have given them in the field, they think, 'Chef Jen taught me that.'

Any particular chef or tool from culinary school that stands out for you? I loved my Garde Manger class, taught by chef Alisa Sattler, now associate culinary director at the Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago. She taught me how to be professional and I learned my style of teaching from her. She was a bright light in the kitchen and classroom and always encouraged us.

Do you an hobbies that you enjoy? Gardening is my new thing. I grew an organic garden this summer. But reading is my favorite thing to do in the whole world. I finished 'Eat, Pray, Love' by Elizabeth Gilbert recently.

Do you have plans to write anymore books? I have a couple of ideas that are food-related fiction. But right now, I am just focused on finishing up school for my MBA.

What ingredients do you look forward to being in season? My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving so I love fall vegetables. Root vegetables, squashes anything readily available during autumn.

Do you watch any reality cooking TV shows? I watch 'Top Chef.' I am not a fan of 'Hell's Kitchen' or those kinds of shows. Gordon Ramsay is probably a great chef, but I don't agree with perpetuating that stereotype. But I love watching Jamie Oliver and Ina Garten of 'Barefoot Contessa.' Most people at home don't cook like restaurant chefs do. As long as people are cooking at home, that's great. It's only strengthening the industry.

What is one message you'd like your students to take with them from your classes? Trust your instincts. Every time I didn't, I ruined a dish or recipe or whatever it was I was working on. Be open to learning from everyone and don't let your ego get in the way.

Tell us about this recipe: Butternut Squash Pasta. Its perfect for a cool autumn day. If you'd like some protein with it, pork tenderloin would work well.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Recipes</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=253256">Butternut Squash Pasta <span class="date">[11/24/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>