'Cooking Is Who I Am'

Jan. 16, 2008— -- If you've never heard of Grant Achatz, all you need to know, some people would say, is that he's a food genius.

Renowned chef Charlie Trotter, whose Chicago restaurant, Charlie Trotter's, was ranked by Restaurant magazine as the 30th best restaurant in the world, is one of those admirers.

"He's one of the chefs who has taken ideas, classical collinear ideas, and is applying modernity to them — applying a kind of futuristic view of things," said Trotter.

Achatz is a soft spoken man who, in a very short period of time, went from being a culinary unknown, including some time spent working under Trotter, to founding a restaurant in Chicago called Alinea, recognized by Gourmet magazine as America's best restaurant in 2006.

Achatz is only 33, has a book coming out, and in all ways, it looked like the future was his, until a mysterious sore on his tongue threatened to end his cooking career.

"It became very apparent that there was something very wrong, Achatz said. "I was having a really hard time eating solid foods, my speech was dramatically impaired. It was a big problem."

A biopsy revealed he had a cancerous tumor on his tongue. Doctors said they would have to remove three-fourths of his tongue to save his life — a devastating blow to a chef, passionate about food.

"At that point, I'm going, alright, well, that's not going to happen," Achatz said

In his mind, Achatz had good reason to refuse the surgery. He was in the middle of setting up his future acclaimed restaurant, Alinea. He was busy designing the kinds of dishes that would bring him global recognition — whimsical creations like Ayu — a succulent flaky fish — atop watermelon and hearts of palm, arranged in a way that could make a table top look like an art gallery.

Achatz cooks stunning aesthetic and flavorful foods, leaving no detail of the restaurant undone. He creates different aromas in the dining area, by mixing scents in a pillow case, to best compliment the food being served that night. Achatz says sometimes the aromas evoke such a strong memory for patrons, that it brings them to tears.