The first chef I ever heard of was Michel Guérard.

Most people these days think of "Cuisine Minceur" as part of the whole push toward nouvelle cuisine back in the late 1970s.

Actually, it was spa cookery. Michel Guérard was ensconced at the spa at Evian les Bains. Many of his customers were there for their annual liver cleaning -- the French think all bad things originate in the liver -- but a significant number were there to lose weight.

He'd been a little tubby himself at one point. He didn't want to lose flavor, and he didn't want to lose texture.

These two elements were key for me. My father came up diabetic. It's why we were moved to Belgium instead of taking up our original assignment in Indonesia. I went from not cooking at all (I was at boarding school) back to cooking for a family of four, but sugar was banned as well as certain fats. I had to rethink recipes and look at new ones.

I don't think I've ever cooked out of the Cuisine Minceur cookbook. That may change soon. So many of his recipes called for homemade glace and demi-glace and as a teenager, I couldn't imagine cooking for the six to ten hours that would require. Now, I look at my cassoulet recipe and realize, I can do a demi-glace standing on my head. (Now that I think about it, the phrase should be standing on my hands. Yoga has gotten me to the point where I can do a supported handstand -- i.e. against a wall -- but my neck still isn't ready for a headstand.).

Even though I never used the recipes, I read them all. I know his use of citrus influenced me. Guérard gave me courage and a foundation to stand on.