Chef Russell Jackson is no stranger to controversy. He’s been hosting a series of monthly “FU Foie Gras Dinners” at his restaurant, Lafitte (500 The Embarcadero), in honor of the soon-to-be-banned delicacy. He’s also a pretty damn nice guy.
I recently chatted with the legendary lord of the underground about his popular pier-side eatery, politics and his fundraising efforts for Hidden Valley’s Lunch Break for Schools program.
Tell us a little bit about Lunch Break for Schools and how you got involved with them?
Russell Jackson: It’s really a neat program. Having the opportunity to be a part of something that benefits children–by nature–it’s just something that we all should do. If you’re given the opportunity to do something like that you should just jump in. [When they contacted me] it was one of those surreal moments in life where someone handed me the phone and they go, ‘Hidden Valley Ranch is on the phone,’ and I was like, ‘Excuse me, what?!’ To know that they wanted to work with me especially after some of the local papers named me as the number 2 most kid-unfriendly restaurant in the city. I thought that was so funny. I got to tell you: a handful of my costumers–some of my best customers–are under the age of 15! To be able to teach children that food doesn’t have to be fried, or sweet, or packaged to be good, that’s really extraordinary.
How will this fit in with the work that you’re doing at Lafitte?
RJ: It’s in line with what I’ve stood behind my entire career: putting out good food and nourishing souls and minds and hearts. This is the first time I’m really having a conversation about it, but it’s really amazing.
Why is it in this country that getting kids to eat right seems to be political rather than a health issue:
I never thought of myself as an activist, although I have it in my family background. But it’s unbelievable how some people can just argue nonsense. There’s so many more important things to fight and argue and put our energies behind, but maybe it’s just low-hanging fruit for people to pick on. There’s got to be some sort of psychological element. Have you noticed that over the past few years people have gone from a loving, supporting state of each other to this aggressive, dog-eat-dog, super-agro, biting, attacking shtick? People just don’t have all the information. They haven’t taken the time to look at the resources to understand the bigger picture and to see what’s really going on. People are frightened of change. Everybody just wants to stay the same ’cause it feels safe. You can’t live your life that way. We’re Americans, we’re supposed to be about innovation–balls-to-the-wall, making it right for the rest of the world. We need to be leading by example and not by talking head bullshit. Some of the crap that comes out of people’s mouths is just unbelievable. It’s a crazy time.
Being a chef today seems to rely almost equally on art and science, which of those two disciplines compels you more in what you do?
RJ: There’s always a level of chemistry to it. Then there’s the part that’s subjective and weird. I’ve gone through crazy ups and downs in my careers. I kind of played around with so many different things. Maybe 7 years ago I sat down and had that hard, gut-check and said to myself, ‘what is it that I really want to be doing? What is the most important thing to me?’ It was running and building restaurants, cooking every day–it’s what the made difference for me in life. I look at what I do as my art. Years ago I went from that place of being a cook and turned it into being an artist. And went through all of those struggles of having to manage my craft and work into evolving and mastering the different techniques. I’m always growing, I’m always rethinking, and because I get to work with these great, young cooks–it makes me work so much harder to step up my game. Cooking kung fu, is what I like to call it. I’m always asking myself: is there a huge impact in the end in what I’m producing? Is my presentation simple? If not, streamline it.
What else inspires you in the kitchen?
RJ: I really love collaborating and I look forward to having the opportunity to work with more chefs.
Do you have any particular ingredients that you enjoy working with the most?
RJ: It really comes down to what’s happening seasonally. I’ve got a hard-on this week for citrus. I don’t know why. I just went to the
Do you come across exotic foods that you had never worked with, or even heard of before?
RJ: Every now and then someone will pop in with something that I’ve never seen before. Our farmers are so aggressive and are always trying to outdo one another, bringing back really cool, traditional or Italian variation on some plant that I’ve never heard of. Whatever kind of weird things they can get their hands on. Someone brought me tobacco leaves last year to cook with. There was a trend of people trying to use pipe tobacco to make cocktails. It was disgusting. It was clearly nasty, and I’m a big cigar smoker myself. My meat guys are always trying to bring me something new and exciting, cause he knows that we’re the tasting ground. We are a creative house, people know that we are willing to try something different. And then I hear about [Chef Thomas] Keller getting all kinds of crazy stuff and it makes me jealous [laughs].
If you can go back in any time, anywhere in the world, where and when would you have your dream meal from ?
RJ: Opening night at Harvey’s–Marco Pierre White’s restaurant in London, that would definitely be my first choice. It doesn’t get any better than that. Three michelin stars? Come on. He’s my God. Also a dinner that was held at the White House last year caught my attention…they have some really good entertainment these days!
You have a possess a pronounced Rock Star status. What Rock God, in particular, would you compare yourself to?
RJ: Someone once made a comment that I was to food what Radiohead is to music, I took that as one of the highest compliments somebody could have ever paid me. I never thought about it, but I’d have to say Joe Strummer of the Clash. I’d love to be able to say David Bowie, but I’ve got a bit of a mouth on me, I wear my heart on my sleeve, and when I go out to do what I do I leave it out all on the floor. If you’ve ever seen have the opporutnity to see the Clash perform, my heart is pounding just thinking about it. The insanity, the immediacy of what they were and what they stood for as a band. The intensive artists that they were and how they lived their lives, some pretty cool shit.
Lafitte’s specialty lunches on March 1st benefit the Lunch Break for School program, dedicated to promoting proper nutrition and healthier eating habits in schools across the country.