Bob Small, retired CEO of Fairmont Hotels, has come to Pritikin every year for the past 20 years. “I’ve loved all my vacations at Pritikin, but this last one was the best. The food was fabulous. The new chef has made big, big changes. He’s terrific!”

Mr. Small has plenty of company. In the past several months, session after session, guests have praised Executive Chef Drew Rosen and his staff of sous chefs and servers.

“I ate like a king,” says restaurateur Bautista Locatelli, owner for 34 years of the popular Bautista’s Hole-In-the-Wall Italian restaurant in Las Vegas. On the last day of his Pritikin visit in November, Bautista announced, “I can’t wait to come back.”

“We cut no corners”

What’s the secret to Chef Drew’s success? “We cut no corners,” says Drew, who has owned and operated fine dining establishments in Alaska, California, and Florida and possesses a vast background in natural foods. “Every ingredient we purchase is the freshest and highest quality we can buy. Every ingredient – from onions to lobster. It takes a lot of time and tremendous commitment, but it turns good meals into great meals.”

Fresh herbs come from top-ranked organic farms. Copper River salmon is Fed-Exed in from fishermen at the Copper River in Alaska, tilapia comes in overnight from Hawaii, cod from Seattle, whitefish from the Great Lakes.

Mahi Mahi with Shiitake Mushrooms & Marsala

And each dish is a symphony of delights. Mahi Mahi with Shiitake Mushrooms & marsala is finished with a refreshing chiffonade of basil, parsley, and spinach and served with Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes Topped with Fresh Tomato Sauce. Says Drew: “The combination of creamy marsala, earthy mushrooms, and bite of tomato produces a balanced, complex dish with full mouth feel.”

Full of flavor, too, are vegetables. “There’s a huge difference in taste between medium-quality and top-quality vegetables,” explains Drew. “We buy only the freshest – and only the very best.”

I Never Knew Vegetables Could Taste So Good

Guests appreciate the results. Says Dr. Harry Mones of Coral Gables, Florida: “I never knew vegetables could taste so good – or be so interesting.”

Flambéed Banana Crepes

Desserts are equally exciting. For Banana Crepes, “we prepare fresh, warm crepes and flambé bananas with cinnamon and vanilla,” describes Chef Drew. “We then fold the banana mixture into the crepes for a delightfully sweet dessert.”

“I felt like royalty”

The food’s not the only thing getting star treatment. “I felt like royalty the entire time I was at Pritikin,” says June Fowler of Washington, D.C. Every little desire is taken care of. Did you fill up your salad plate with big chunks of cauliflower and other hard-to-cut veggies? No problem. A waiter whisks it away and in less than three minutes returns to your table with your salad, all chopped up in pretty little bite-size pieces.

Not fond of tonight’s dessert? No problem. The dessert vanishes and another variety arrives – strawberry yogurt swirl, rice pudding, or ice cream – before you’ve even had a chance to put your spoon down.

Choices Galore

Another tantalizing improvement in Pritikin dining is the many delectable choices. The fruit bar at breakfast is a rainbow of colors – rich, luscious strawberries and blueberries, tropical papayas and mangoes, melons, bananas, grapefruit, and more. The salad bar at lunch and dinner is decorated with a minimum of 24 freshly cut items.

For dinner, guests have a choice of three entrees. At least one is a vegetarian selection – crowd-pleasers like Pasta Primavera in Roasted Garlic Sauce. And three evenings each week guests are treated to exciting new animal protein choices like Cajun Trout, Stone Crabs, Peppered Seared Tuna with Saffron Polenta, and Stuffed Chicken Breast with Wild Mushroom Risotto.

Stuffed Chicken Breast with Wild Mushroom Risotto

For the Stuffed Chicken Breast, the chefs dry plum tomatoes, pound tender, free-range chicken breast, and stuff the chicken breast with the tomatoes and fresh spinach. It’s served with a Wild Mushroom Risotto – a rich, savory combination of shiitakes, porcini, and oyster mushrooms.

Bison, King of Steaks

If you like steak, you’ll love Drew’s bison. Every Thursday evening, as the waiters carry out the richly aromatic dishes of Grilled Filet of Bison with Farro, the dining room turns uncharacteristically quiet. “We’re all in reverie over this succulent, delicious meat!” laughs Penny Huth of Jasper, Georgia, a guest in June.

The bison is a citrus-marinated tenderloin, grilled to order, and served with farro, an ancient Italian grain with fantastic texture and nutty flavor. The bison and farro are served with creamed spinach infused with garlic and sweet onions.

“We have a sophisticated clientele,” says Chef Drew. “They’re accustomed to eating at the finest restaurants in the world. It’s our job – as much as we can – to duplicate that experience, to present food that’s not only healthy but delicious and pleasing as well.

“You’ve given me new hope”

“The way I see it, the doctors and dietitians at Pritikin teach people why they want to follow the Pritikin Program. My staff and I show them that they can follow it. The compliment I cherish the most is when guests say, ‘You’ve given me new hope. I like what I’m eating. I know I can do this at home.’”

The biggest bonus of all, of course, is watching Pritikin magic in action. The diabetics who, by the end of their stay, no longer need insulin shots. The hypertensives who leave free of their medications. The heart patients who no longer struggle with angina pain. And the many, many guests who arrive at the Center, dragging and fatigued, and graduate 30+ pounds lighter, “with a new bounce in their step,” observes Drew.

On Friday evenings, as guests toast each other in the dining room, giddy over their exit blood values and how well they’re feeling, Chef Drew steals away from the kitchen, just for a moment, to take in the fun. “There’s so much joy in the room,” he smiles. “This is my reward.”

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