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5ive questions ... with a health-conscious chef
Thyme to make a food change
By Deborah J. Botti
For
the Times Herald-Record
About five years ago in a hospital delivery room, when
a little girl named Courtney was born to Jamie and Marcus Guiliano, the seeds were planted that would grow to be the Aroma
Thyme Bistro in Ellenville.The delivery room discussion was not about a business venture. Rather, teacher mom and chef dad
wrestled with what they were going to feed their child to give her a healthy start.Marcus began his studies in the culinary
program at Sullivan County Community College. His profession was further nourished at the famous five-star Greenbriar Resort
in West Virginia, the prestigious Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., and in the acclaimed LaTante Claire in London. Marcus'
voracious appetite for knowledge means his creations are not just about how to prepare a dish, but also what's in it and
what happens after it's consumed.
How did your pursuit of healthier
eating begin?
While I was in Colorado, I visited local farmers. Some
of them weren't eating their own stuff. What does that tell you? I visited slaughterhouses – and was appalled. And
a book I read by Gary Null, "Get Healthy Now," really clicked for me.
I started seeking out
organic foods. I eliminated refined sugar and white flour. I became a vegetarian, although I'll eat certain fish.
What other changes did you make?
The only
beef I serve in the restaurant is from Hill Creek Ranch, where hormones and antibiotics are prohibited. The chickens I use,
Murray's Chickens, are free-range, raised on a pesticide-free vegetarian diet. I am not against sweet, just refined sugar.
So I use products like organic maple syrup. I am not against fats, but I use different kinds of fats. For example, olive oil
is good – but not to sauté in. Heat turns it into a carcinogenic. Instead, I cook with coconut oil, avocado oil
or macadamia nut oil.
Have you noticed changes in yourself since altering
your food habits?
I was classically trained in fat, cream, butter
and sugar. By age 26, I was a good 40 pounds overweight. I used to say that every new job came with 10 pounds. My cholesterol
was high, as was my blood pressure. I also suffered from acid reflux, and the medications were not working. I had chronic
fatigue. And I was severely asthmatic – I could not go anywhere without my inhaler.
I've
lost 35-40 pounds, and I'm not taking any medications. I need less sleep. I have not used an inhaler in almost five years.
What does your family eat in a typical day, and does it taste good?
Our food really tastes good – except for the nutrient shake with soy rice
milk and bee pollen, and the wheat grass juice I drink. As a matter of fact, most of my customers don't realize they're
eating a healthful meal – they come for the taste.
A family breakfast might be oat flour pancakes
with maple syrup and a glass of coconut water – or a salad. Lunch can be a vegetarian whole wheat wrap or a piece of
fish and a vegetable. For dinner, perhaps some rice and beans.
How
can a person get started?
Make a list of the worst foods in your life
– refined sugar, coffee, processed foods, white flour – and vow to eliminate one a month, substituting something
more healthful. At the end of a year, a dozen changes will have been made.
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