There are so many professions that escape the descriptors of
being fashionable or trendy or of the moment and yet, if you rethink it and
examine the precepts of such a profession, one might say that cuisine or in
simpler terms... cooking is undoubtedly all of those things.
As I usually stretch the limits of fashion to include many contiguous art forms or the many manifestations of what one might consider being fashion or fashionable… today we are on the subject of food... well cuisine... well maybe, trend driven recipes and still maybe all of these ingredients are under the control of just one man … Alex Hitz.
In case you have been hiding under a rock, Mr. Hitz has completed the wildly successful cookbook entitled My Beverly Hills Kitchen: Classic Southern Cooking with a French Twist. He is now and forever an accomplished host as well as chef and has carved a niche into the culinary landscape of this country. Without question, Mr. Hitz shows us that food can be fashionable as well as very stylish so read up and find out what makes Alex tick!
1-What is the most treasured possession in your wardrobe?
My first pair of Gucci
loafers---a birthday present from my mother when I turned 16 in 1985. They’ve
been re-soled so many times but they are still perfect.
2-What is your most
sterling trait and what trait do you treasure most in your friendships?
Loyalty and humor.
Stand by me and make me laugh---and vice versa!
3-What is your bliss?
The summer. The view
from my house to the Ocean. Bliss is anywhere it’s warm.
4-What is your guilty
secret?
Promise you won’t
tell, but…The Lawrence Welk show. It’s still on in PBS markets all over this
country and I often find it when I am travelling. It’s like a train wreck. I
just can’t stop watching it.
5-Where is your ideal
home?
New York AND Los
Angeles---I think the two cities really need each other!
6-If you could not be
a designer/retailer/etc:, what would you be
I’m just a cook and a
writer, but if I weren’t I think I’d be an architect because it’s another one
of my great passions---How exciting to be able to draw something that then gets
built just the way you drew it.
7-What is on your
bedside table right now?
MY LIFE AS A
MANKIEWICZ a fascinating Hollywood book, Maida Heatter’s CHOCOLATE CAKE BOOK,
Elizabeth David’s SOUTH WIND THROUGH THE KITCHEN, Mildred Knopf’s COOK MY
DARLING DAUGHTER and GARY COOPER STYLE. I’m up all night!
8-What do you wear to
bed?
Just a black t-shirt…
9-What if any, book
are you reading now or last read?
A PRINCE AMONG STONES,
an autobiography by my friend Prince Rupert Loewenstein about his business with
the Rolling Stones. I just loved it!
10-What’s your advice
to the “newcomer?”
Learn the rules and
understand classics. Do your homework. Remember you must know the rules before
you can break them…
11-Who or what is
your inspiration/style icon?
So many but to name a
few: Cary Grant, The Duke of Windsor, Bobby Short, and Johnny Galliher. Mark
Birley. These gents had style and discipline. They knew what it takes!
12-What is the best advice
you ever received?
From Henry Grunwald:
“There is no euphemism for dying.”
13-In 3 words or
less, describe the current state of fashion.
80’s, kitsch. I have
lots more but stuck to just two…
14-If you were a
retailer, would you wear your own designs or shop in your own store ? or where
would you shop?
I designed men’s
clothing for several years, and I have to say, yes, I was my own best customer!
If not, Arnys in Paris.
15-If you won a
$200,000,000 power ball (lottery), what is the first thing you would buy or do?
A walk-in cooler at my
house. I stayed with some friends in Florida this winter who had one and it
changed my life. Oh, and, yes, a G5. Why not?
16-If you could
invite up to 4 people for dinner, who would they be…dead or alive?
Charles de Bestigui to
discuss his entertaining, Dorothy Draper to discuss her theatrical
proclivities, Nan Kempner because she was SO MUCH FUN and no dinner should EVER
be had without her, and with me that’s four!
17-What is your
favorite movie /or movie star?
This was the one
question I wrestled with on this list and I am sorry that I couldn’t narrow it
down to just one so here goes: Gone With The Wind, Sullivan’s Travels, Laura,
and The Lady Eve. I really should do a top ten because we are only scratching
the surface here…!
18-What is the one
thing you would change about yourself?
I’m only 5’9 and it
would be very, very nice to be 6 feet. But Nate Berkus tells me us shorties age
far better!
19-Whose opinion do you
value most?
My housekeeper’s. She always tells me honestly if the tie’s a
little crooked or the jacket a slight bit too tight!
20-What store or
which designer do you most like to shop in or wear ?
I love Brunello
Cucinelli’s clothes—and Malo sweaters. John Lobb for shoes, Charvet ties. Ray
Ban aviators. Pretty Classic stuff I guess.
21-What’s your take
on magazines, books versus the internet?
Books and magazines
have a SOUL and no electronic device will ever be able to replace that--- or
the feel as you hold one in your hand, and the excitement of turning a page. I
get the convenience, but just like a cake mix, it’s simply, no substitute for
the real thing.
22-Do you have a
dream collaborator?
Jacques Pepin. He is
such a hero of mine and it would be great fun to do some huge dinner, for like
500 people with him to benefit a hungry kid’s charity. Do you know him???!!!
23-What is your
crowning achievement thus far in your career?
Having written a book
and one that people seem to want to read. There is no way to describe my
gratitude (and amazement) for both of these things.
24-What’s your music
library like?
Bach and
Mozart---Jobim and Ella Fitzgerald---and of course, Barry White and Beyonce.
Need I tell you more!?
25-What and where is
your favorite meal?
My absolute favorite
meal is Poached or Grilled Salmon with Béarnaise Sauce. But that’s mostly
because I just like the Béarnaise Sauce…and, of course, I love Fried Chicken…!
www.mybeverlyhillskitchen.com/
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