The Alternative Chef, Lonnie Behrens, Creates Recipes without Sacrificing the Taste

About the Alternative Chef

The Alternative Chef lured Executive Chef, Lonnie Behrens, away from the conventional haute restaurant scene where he has featured healthy and natural gourmet meals in all his menu fare. The objective: to provide gourmet recipes and family menu ideas for allergy patients who are undergoing a restrictive diet with the idea of bringing the family together to enjoy a meal that follows their restrictive guidelines, yet still tastes good.

Chef Behrens began his culinary career the old fashioned way; he started at the bottom washing dishes for his grandfather, Master Chef Henry Norris, of the famed Chef Henry's Gourmet Restaurant in Greenville, SC. Following 8 years under Chef Henry's strict and demanding tutelage, Lonnie earned and learned valuable knowledge and certification of every aspect of both the restaurant business, and the hospitality industry. With an entrepreneurial streak, Lonnie spotted the trends in dining moving towards natural and organic ingredients and a more holistic approach to meal preparation, and began incorporating these new ideas into Chef Henry's traditional menu. When his grandfather past away, Lonnie took his considerable skills to Charleston, SC, and helped establish Tommy Condons with Chef Richard Erskine.

After Hurricane Hugo destroyed the restaurant, Chef Lonnie was offered an opportunity to work with world renowned Argentinean Chef Alberto Garcia, at Penachios Seafood and Italian Restaurant, where he learned even more about different cooking styles, with unique daily specials featuring dishes from, Italy, the Mediterranean, South America, and the Caribbean. Applying his creative passion with a growing knowledge of healthy and organic ingredients soon made Chef Lonnie the toast of Charleston, with a successful and award winning business and a booming clientele.

When the location was sold, Chef Lonnie decided to try a different locale, and he and his family settled in Concord, NH, developing and creating healthy menus for The Pasta House, and Cheers. His epicurean journey has taken him to just about every region of the US, where he has studied each of the regional cooking techniques and local ingredients to include in his exotic and creative cooking style. After his stints in private restaurant ventures, Chef Lonnie decided to move into a more corporate structure, developing and upgrading the menu selections with more creative and healthy cooking styles for Applesouth, Inc, (Parent company of Applebee's and Tomato Rumba's).

Chef Lonnie was recruited as the Executive Chef at the newly opened Rainforest Cafe Seattle. Once again, the restaurant was an instant success with their clientele and won numerous cooking awards. However, Seattle, home to Boeing, and Microsoft almost came to a standstill after 9/11, and Lonnie's wife had just been offered a position with a law firm in Orlando, so Lonnie secured a job working for another growing restaurant chain in Florida, The Ale House, a regional company specializing in a relaxed atmosphere and a casual menu.

While at The Ale House, Chef Lonnie's natural leadership and meal creativity was recognized by a local Daytona Beach entrepreneur who was opening up a beachside water park, and he hired Chef Lonnie as Food and Beverage Director of Daytona Lagoon. The challenge of starting not just one restaurant, but 6 completely different themed restaurants with a full bar was just the project this ambitious and dedicated chef needed to round out and hone his vast cooking experience and management skills.

The extensive culinary experience and knowledge of cooking with natural and organic ingredients lead to a challenge to provide cooking consultations and recipes for their patients with restrictive diets. In less than 6 months, Chef Lonnie has spoken and helped thousands of allergy patients with his knowledge and encouragement to learn how to prepare healthy meals that taste like gourmet dishes found in the most exclusive restaurants.

Chef Lonnie has produced a cookbook appropriately titled: Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Meals that Don't Taste Like Cardboard (Recently reviewed by Spectrum Magazine- June edition). Chef Lonnie is continuing to develop new and exciting recipes for this website as well as a new cookbook, and a video series in the future featuring cooking tips and healthy diet recipes.

Chef Lonnie is available for consultations for and hopes his experience and knowledge will help everyone win their fight for a healthier life.