For Chef Lee Cranz,
food is a passion, something to enjoy and something to share- but nothing to fear. As the Culinary Arts instructor for Altamaha Technical College in
Brunswick, Chef Cranz (shown, above, second from left, with his students at the
annual Brunswick Stewbilee) takes his classes to community events all over the Golden
Isles to gain experience in a number of culinary settings. He has a message for
all of us out there who are afraid to make the leap from scrambling up a meager
meal to actual, I’m-proud-of-myself cooking for a table full of guests.
“Don’t overthink it!””
Chef Cranz knows
food. After graduating from the University of Georgia in International
Business, he decided to steer his career into the kitchen and returned to
school at prestigious Johnson and Wales College in Charleston to become a chef.
He was the chef at Greyfield Inn on Cumberland Island, then dazzled guests of
The Lodge, overlooking the famed Seaside course at the Sea Island Golf Club.
Today, he mentors
and instructs 24 Culinary Arts students at Altamaha Technical College’s
Brunswick campus. He teaches his students how to succeed in today’s
fast-paced food service industry, but he has some words of culinary wisdom for
beginning cooks at home who are insecure about serving something they have
prepared themselves.
“If you want to
impress somebody, buy a high-quality fresh product and prepare it simply. It’s
hard to go wrong that way. People get into trouble trying to start out with elaborate sauces. A beautiful piece of fish, topped with a little olive oil and
some sea salt and pepper, is a great meal. If you want to make it look pretty
and fancy, try garnishes. A little color from fresh parsley, for example, will
make the dish look more finished.”
Chef Cranz
recommends that beginners move on to experimenting with herbs, and then attempt
the more complex sauces as confidence builds. “In contemporary cuisine, sauces
are often served beneath the protein,” he added. “There really shouldn’t be any
pressure to showcase a sauce as a topping anyway. I recommend that people begin
to use color creatively, and consider lots of elements like nuts and other textures
instead.”
He further advises
beginners to “make what you
like!” A self-proclaimed picky
childhood eater, Chef Cranz encourages newbies to try everything, and
experiment with new flavor profiles. Adult tastes are different from children’s
tastes, he reminded, and something that made you shudder as a child might be
appealing to an adult palate.
What’s on the menu
for his favorite dinner menu? “Braised lamb shanks, simple home-made mashed
potatoes and a fresh, in-season green vegetable.”
And what celebrity
chef does he admire? “I would travel back in time and have dinner with Auguste
Escoffier (1846-1935). I would love to watch him prepare a meal, then have
dinner with him and discuss his views on food. What would really be fascinating
is to be able to fast-forward to today and get his thoughts on how we do things
now.”
Chef Lee Cranz and
his students will compete at this year’s A Taste of Glynn on March 25, 2012,
from 5-8 pm. at the King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort. Tickets are available at the King and Prince,
and SunTrust Bank locations on Demere Road and Sea Island Road on St. Simons.
In Brunswick, purchase tickets at LaiLai’s, Hattie’s Books, color me happy and
Moore Stephens Tiller LLC. Or call the Glynn Community Crisis Center at
264-1348.
Photo by Lindy Thompson of
Golden Isles Photography
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