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Chef Cary Neff is a pioneer in creating exceptional, healthful meals. He is the author of the best-selling Conscious Cuisine (Sourcebooks, October 2002) and a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, Chef's Collaborative and the American Culinary Federation's Apprentice program. He has been featured in Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Food and Wine, New York Times Magazine, and Metropolitan Home, among others. He appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and was featured in Winfrey's O Magazine.

Name: Cary Neff

Birthday:  January 27, 1961

Location: Birth: Chicago, Il. Present: :Lackawaxen, PA

Q: What keeps you going (your motivation)?

A: Providing friends, family and clients with solutions to health and wellness through products, services and information. Each day I ponder new methods to deliver the message of Conscious Cuisine.

Q: What’s your favorite healthy meal to prepare?

A: Chicken Soup with fresh seasonal vegetables and some type of pasta or whole grain.

Q: What are some kitchen insider tips you can use when dining out to make sure your meal is healthy?

A: Thoroughly read the menu and ask important questions. I.e. protein portion size,  how vegetables are cooked, prepared and seasoned (olive oil or butter). Ask for your entrée to be split in the kitchen and packaged to take home for another meal. What are good things patrons can ask for (substitutions, omissions) that would make you fix them an extra-healthy meal if you were their chef? Fortify you meal choice with a side order of delicious spinach (from the salad category or ratattoulie served with another entrée) to boost the flavor, satisfaction and balanced nutrition of your meal.   How do you make sure that the chef gets the right message and doesn’t get angry about preparing the food in a healthy manner? By ordering side orders of the vegetable and grain components its pleases the chef that the recipes are appreciated and its listing on the menu with other foods does not create a special order that requires the kitchen staff to leave their post on the line to retrieve and prepare.

Q: What’s your favorite healthy ingredient?

A: Steel Cut Oats, their packed with vitamins and nutrients and a great way to start your day with delicious energy rich whole grains. What’s the one thing you’d suggest people keep in their kitchen if they want to cook healthy meals? Vegetable Stock! Its great for soups, salad dressing (reduces the use of oils), braising vegetables, braising poultries, fish and making one pot meals.

Q: What’s the easiest healthy meal you know how to make?

A: Chicken soup. Quick and easy stock from bone in, skinless chicken breast, fresh or frozen vegetables, vegetable stock, or filtered water, fresh herbs and brown rice.

Q: What’s your favorite healthy make-over meal – a meal that’s usually not particularly good for you, but that can be prepared so as to provide health benefits?

A: Caesar Salad! The worlds most popular salad is delicious and high in fat and calories, about cal. Fat g . Conscious Cuisine Caesar is only 80 cal and 2.5 grams of fat.

Q: What dessert do you dream about that’s healthy and low-cal?

A: Teas! I love the variety and complexity of flavors that tea provides. I dream of sauce, sorbet, soup and dessert recipes using soups.

Q: If there were one healthy food item (something you love) that you had to eat every day, what would it be?

A: Heirloom Tomatoes

Q: What’s the best book about health that you’ve read?

A: Wellness Encyclopedia by University of California Berkley, it provided a wealth of wellness information for me when I first began studying and cooking healthfully.

Q: What are your two favorite health magazines?

A: Cooking Light and  Experience Life magazines.

Q: What do you consider the world’s most perfect food from a health perspective?

A: Miso Soup with tofu, wakame, and julienne vegetables. Its hot temperature forces the diner to slow down to enjoy and to take notice of the nutritious sea vegetables and its interesting contrasting textures of the sea vegetables, tofu and vegetable julienne. Its super simple to make and a wonderful example of healthfulness and mindful eating.

Q: What physical activity do you do to keep yourself in shape?

A: Walking which I do a lot of and circuit training which I fail to do as often as I would like to do.

Q: Do you have a favorite healthy recipe or cooking tip? If so would you share it?

A: Chocolate Banana and Almond Butter Smoothie. I enjoy straight forward, non pretentious foods. This is a great example of that will providing complex flavors. When frozen into popsicles it makes an awesome treat that reminds me of summer time in my youth.

Q: Do you have a Calorie Bargain?

A: My calorie bargain is popcorn. I choose to cook popcorn on the stove with a little olive oil rather than micro wave or air pop options. The aroma of fresh cooked popcorn makes snacking more enjoyable and I season the freshly popped kernels with lemon pepper seasoning. Fun treat!

Q: Tell us how you got to where you are now.

A: I was lucky to decide my career at a very young age(15) and was fortunate to have some really great mentors to provide me with tutelage and challenging opportunities. Learning to create health conscious food was just another food style that I was interested to learn. I soon learned  that it was more challenging and rewarding than any other style of foods that I’ve prepared in the past. I then focused all of my time and energy to creating nutritiously balanced foods that’s and making it more accessible for the masses that need it the most.

Q: Define and discuss failure.

A: Failure is to resolve, not to attempt. I made a number of mistakes and many things that I have attempted did not come out as I had hoped for, but I have yet to fail.

Q: Is there anything about yourself that you've changed your mind about in the last 20 years?

A: Yes, I’ve changed my mind on trying to be one of the countries top chefs, working at one of the most famous restaurants. To become a good chef and great father and later to create a nutrition and wellness platform for children that provides nutrition solutions for the masses.

Q: What's the next major item on your "to-do" list?

A: Break into the health care industry. Create healthful and great tasting foods for patients while providing nutrition information that is revered as after care medicine.

Q: Define individual responsibility and how you react to adverse situations.

My personality is intense, open, honest and emotional. I give all I have to every conversation and or project. If the result or situation is adverse I’ll say and do all I can to resolve the issue. Then  I take refuge that I’ve done my best and move on.

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