Chef Serves a Fusion of Cuisine and Community
Natural Awakenings, Sandy Rogovin, 11/07
Wendy Landiak, chef and proprietor of Balasia restaurant in Emmaus, has always loved cooking. She remembers, at the age of three four, being discovered after bedtime in the kitchen baking bread. She had learned it was the only time she could do what she wanted in that room without someone shooing her away. She chose a big bowl and began making dough, already understanding enough about the mechanics of bread baking to add soda water for leavening. Her experiment was brought to an end by parental decree. The world would wait to enjoy Landiak's culinary talents.
Throughout her childhood, spent in Lehigh Township, Landiak's father practiced chiropractic from an office in his home. His approach to treatment incorporated an array of natural and alternative healing practices so Landiak had access to a house full of books and information on those topics. She absorbed a practical understanding of anatomy, and the idea that what people put into their bodies could make them healthier, or it could make them sicker. That seminal concept stayed with her as she entered her college years, although her initial educational pathway diverged from it.
She began college life as an Arts major, minoring in Humanities, imbuing her body of knowledge with an artist's creative sensibility. During her freshman year, she encountered a new way of thinking about an old custom. Her roommate was a vegetarian, and the information she shared about the cruel treatment of animals at commercial feedlots resonated. As a result, Landiak opted for becoming vegetarian and in time went one step further to become vegan for personal health reasons.
The change in eating habits led her to experiment again with food, although this time she was old enough to be allowed in the kitchen. As a vegan, she had to combine a variety of foods to get all the nutrients she needed. The challenge was to do that deliciously. She enriched her cooking repertory with travel and in 1998 went to India to trace the origins of yoga, and to explore the diverse vegetarian cuisine. Part of 2001 was spent in Indonesia studying ethnobotany with Jamu doctors who treated the unwell using spices and foods as healing medicines. A third influential destination was Italy, where her attention was riveted by the freshness and quality of the food. She recalls watching shoppers inspect fruit in an outdoor market, admiring the energy of their appreciation. She wanted her food "to be as fresh, as vibrant, and as alive."
Landiak changed her course of study to Nutritional Science, adding standard conventions and USDA regulations to her growing understanding of the role of food in society. While still in college, searching the websites for yoga retreats, she discovered the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York (EOmega.org). Their website carried a call for applications for seasonal housekeeping staff so Landiak submitted hers. She worked in the Omega kitchen during her two final college summers.
As she learned methods of food production for large groups, the spectrum of her interests focused in a new direction. The body-mind connection she felt from her study of yoga and holistic modalities blended smoothly with her love of delicious vegetarian food and her just-acquired kitchen skills. Mixing these with her childhood background of nutrition as an element of healing set Landiak on her first steps toward Balasia.
Balasia was named for her niece, Bailey, and for the Asian cuisines Landiak finds so intriguing. "It's Bailey's Asia," she explains. The fusion of names hints at the fusion-style food which combines favorite recipes and preparations from all over Asia with fresh, local ingredients from the Lehigh Valley. "It's cuisine," she speculates, "that no one has had before." Similarly, Landiak wanted her restaurant to be unique, to be a true expression of her personal vision so she initially spent time developing that vision at The Green Cafe in Bethlehem.
Among natural restaurants, The Green Cafe was known for its open-air kitchen, and for its unusual style of cooperative management. Everyone who worked there became a member of the co-op, and had a part in making business decisions. Landiak's culinary abilities blossomed as did her technical understanding of cooking.
Much as she values the four-and-a-half years she spent at "The Green," Landiak realizes she had begun to think about opening her own business. In her mind, she was "weeding out the garden," choosing which practices to nurture and which to discard. The Green Cafe closed in 2005 but the loss gave her an opportunity to finally birth her dream in 2006 at Balasia.
Titled "A Green World Cafe," Balasia is a manifestation of Wendy Landiak's worldview. Her creative, holistic approach to food is one aspect of the cafe's vision. Diners can enjoy a la carte dishes with flavors from exotic locations, or choose a "Balasian Adventure," a meal grouping with a geographic theme. Menus can change weekly, subject to the availability of fresh, local ingredients. And Landiak has been known to improvise a dish at a customer's request.
Landiak also sees the consumption and production of food as a powerful force in bringing people together. Her intention to strengthen the community connection between Balasia and the Emmaus and Lehigh Valley plays out in her business decisions. For instance she purchases natural products at a nearby health food store and spices at a local Asian market, strengthen that connection. And, high-quality, organic fruits and vegetables grown close-to-home are purchased from Quiet Creek and Red Earth Farms. "Community supports us, and we support it," she reasons.
Balasia is open for activities such as the Emmaus's Halloween Run and Porch Walk. Dinner is not served Monday through Wednesday so the space is available for large or small events that enhance community well being. Landiak hopes to start Tuesday Night Talks, like her successful Food Philosophy talks, again this fall on Tuesday evenings. The open forum will be for local concerns. Participants will be given time to be heard and to connect. In the future Landiak hopes to offer family-style meals on Saturday nights.
Balasia is located at 500 Chestnut Street in Emmaus. Visit Balasia.net for menus, restaurant hours and directions. Dinner is by reservation only, call 484.330.6405.
Freelance writer Sandy Rogovin has a BA in Communications from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and writes poetry and prose as a member of writing groups near her home in New Jersey. Reach her at srogovin@peoplepc.com.