Renowned Chef, Author Kerr Speaking at Banquet

Healthy Living Emphasized in Projects, Appearances

by Heidi Thomas

When Graham Kerr, formerly known as “The Galloping Gourmet,” decided to “retire” to the Skagit Valley in 2000, little did he know that two years later he would still be galloping throughout the country, spreading his message of healthy living.

He wears many hats — chef, author, teacher, television personality, entrepreneur and spokesman for Haggen, Inc. This past month alone, his schedule looked like this:

Feb. 1 — American Heart Association luncheon, Seattle.

Feb. 2 — Grand opening of Haggen store in Burlington.

Feb. 7 — ConAgra Foodbank fundraiser, Omaha, Neb.

Feb. 13 — Heart Institute, Spokane.

Feb. 28-March 3 — YPO Conference, Scottsdale, Ariz.

March 8-10 — Kid’s First Convention, Providence, R.I.

And on March 14, Kerr will be keynote speaker at the Whatcom County Business Pulse’s annual business awards banquet at Resort Semiahmoo in Blaine

Kerr also has several major projects in the works. He has spent six years putting together 130 episodes of “The Gathering Place,” which airs in England and Canada. Recently re-edited for American television, the show is scheduled to begin broadcast in April on PBS. Kerr has written a companion cookbook, due to be released about the same time. He is also writing his autobiography, which will be published by the end of the year. An award-winning author, he has written 23 books and produced well over 2,000 television shows.

One of Kerr’s passion these days, however, is promoting “Menu2” for restaurants. This gives a nutritional analysis of meals served so that diners can make educated, healthful decisions about what they’re ordering. It has been test-marketed in conjunction with the Heart Institute in Spokane, with good results and is backed by the National Restaurant Association, according to Kathryn Hink, Kerr’s executive assistant.

Kerr will be under contract with Haggen as its spokesman for another year; he is affiliated with the American Dietetic Association/ConAgra Foundation, and has produced 500 public service announcements over the past eight years for the National Cancer Institute.

How does the 68-year-old do it? In an earlier interview with Life & Times Magazine, he explained how he views time management. “We each have two cups and two saucers. One cup is resources and the other is time.” He says the size of the cup is up to the individual, but if it is too small, the contents will spill over into the saucer. “When you empty the saucer, pour in the direction you want the contents to flow,” he explains.

“Nowadays, everyone is promising us more time: save time with a microwave; save time with a faster modem, faster car, etc. If you are saving all this time, you’ll either need a bigger cup or you must decide what to do with the excess in the saucer,” he says.

Kerr keeps up his energy level with a healthy lifestyle and the strong religious faith he and his wife of 39 years, Treena, adopted after she suffered a heart attack in 1986. That faith is the foundation of their life and guides them in his career, their business, family and marriage.

Change is possible, Kerr states, and he would like to be remembered as having taught people they can change their most difficult habits and enjoy the creative results.

Balance is the key, he says, in eating, in family relationships and in business.

When he was growing up, Kerr’s parents owned a hotel in London. When he was “underfoot,” he would be sent to the kitchen to visit with the chefs who began to teach him to cook. Later, Kerr served with the Royal Air Force and the New Zealand Air Force in their culinary divisions. After he got out, he was doing cooking demos when a television station owner saw him in 1969. The “Galloping Gourmet” was born.

Kerr quips in his autobiography that he is a world authority on change, as in those early days he practiced “hedonism in a hurry,” creating dishes deep-fat fried or overflowing with cream, butter and egg yolks.

In 1972, after emigrating to the United States and while recuperating from a near fatal accident, he began experimenting with a low-fat cooking style to help ease his family’s stomachs while traveling at sea. The family, however, rebelled against his first efforts of his “caring cuisine,” claiming the food was too bland.

After Treena’s heart attack, Kerr began to refine his low-fat cuisine, realizing he needed to wrap the “caring” with pleasure. He decided his personal mission would be to help Treena make healthy and creative lifestyle changes that would last.

His advice to other busy people who are ready to slow down: “Start doing the things you’ve always wanted to do. Take up art, write a poem, listen to a child.”

And Kerr has already designed his tombstone — a salmon leaping up a waterfall, with the legend “I tried and then I tried again.”