|  Most
libertarians love to talk about politics and economics. Not Charlie
Trotter. You're more likely to hear him debating condiments than the
Constitution; macaroni than macroeconomics; second courses than the
Second Amendment; and bleu cheese than black markets.
That's because Trotter is apparently the only world-renowned American
chef who is also a libertarian.
Trotter's two passions -- cooking and liberty -- intertwined when the
Chicago City Council voted in April 2006 to ban the sale of foie gras.
(Violators can be fined up to $500 for each offense.) Animal-rights
activists had charged that foie gras is inhumane, since ducks are force-fed
cornmeal to create the enlarged, fatty livers used to make the French
delicacy.
Much to his dismay, Trotter was cited as an inspiration by some of the
foie gras prohibitionists. Trotter, who runs the acclaimed, five-star
restaurant Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, had decided in 2002 to stop
serving foie gras because he found its production methods unnecessarily
cruel.
But such an individual decision is quite different than using politics
to ban the pricey dish, he said. "I never wanted to become the
de facto poster boy for the no foie gras movement," Trotter told
the New York Times (September 14, 2005). "It's pretty
soon going to be legislated to death, and pretty soon we won't need
to think because the government will think for us."
After the ban was passed, Trotter revealed his broader philosophical
opposition to the law. "When I took foie gras off the menu, I was
not trying to make a political statement," he told the New
York Times (May 3, 2006). "I am certainly not gleeful about
this. I am very much a libertarian."
How does a gourmet chef become a libertarian? In Trotter's case, he
was a political-science major in college when he discovered Ayn Rand's
The Fountainhead, he told TheAtlasphere.com (December 15, 2003).
"It was like music to my ears -- for the first time in my life
someone was espousing my point of view," he said. "And to
me, Rand's philosophy exalts our possibilities here on earth; that anything
less than the pursuit of excellence is a crime." Trotter still
gives copies of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged
to staff members at his restaurant to inspire them.
For most of his patrons, the food served at Charlie Trotter's is inspiration
enough. Since it opened in 1987, the restaurant has been widely acclaimed
as one of the best in the United States; it earned Five Stars from the
Mobil Travel Guide and Five Diamonds from AAA. In 2000, Wine
Spectator named it the Best Restaurant in the United State, and
in 1999, the James Beard Foundation named Trotter America's "Outstanding
Chef."
Charlie Trotter's menu -- which changes from day to day -- features
everything from Indiana bobwhite quail to braised oxtail; from heirloom
tomatoes to 50-year-old balsamic vinegar; and from garlic chutney to
quince sorbet. One reviewer said the menu combines "European traditionalism
with Asian minimalism and American ingenuity." The food is also
relentlessly fresh; the restaurant has no walk-in coolers, so Trotter
buys new ingredients every day
Trotter compares his cooking to the improvisational jazz of John Coltrane
or Miles Davis. "A jazz musician can improvise based on his knowledge
of music. He understands how things go together. For a chef, once you
have that basis, that's when cuisine is truly exciting," he told
TheAtlasphere.com.
To spread his philosophy of "exciting" cooking, Trotter has
written or contributed to 11 books, including Charlie Trotter's
(1994), Charlie Trotter's Seafood (1997), The Kitchen Sessions
With Charlie Trotter (1999), Lessons in Excellence from Charlie
Trotter (with Paul Clarke, 1999), Charlie Trotter's Meat and
Game (2001), and Raw (with Roxanne Klein, 2003). His television
show, The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter, airs regularly
on PBS. He also made a cameo appearance in the 1997 Julia Roberts film,
My Best Friend's Wedding.
Away from his kitchen, Trotter is active in philanthropic work. He raised
$2 million for scholarships for young people to attend culinary school,
and $1 million for the American Cancer Society. He gives Chicago public
high school students tours of his restaurant and serves them the same
eight-course gourmet meals his customers get -- accompanied by a talk
about the "pursuit of excellence." In 2004, Trotter won the
"Humanitarian of the Year" award from the International Association
of Culinary Professionals.
"I think that success and philanthropy go hand in hand," he
told TheAtlasphere.com. "I think it is a businessperson's responsibility
to affect some good. Not only to improve your own business, but also
your neighborhood and community. I try to justify my existence every
single day."
--
Bill Winter
Quotable
"When
I took foie gras off the menu, I was not trying to make a political
statement. I am certainly not gleeful about this. I am very much a libertarian."
-- Charlie Trotter in the New York Times (May
3, 2006)
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