For a French chef, cooking without butter might sound like culinary sacrilege.But for Olivia Ostrow, it's part of the job.The Paris-born restaurateur and contestant on Food Network's "24 in 24: Last Chef Standing" serves French-Mediterranean cuisine at Maison Ostrow, her kosher restaurant in South Florida, where the meat-based menu means dairy cannot be mixed into dishes.That presents an unusual challenge for a chef working in a cuisine famous for its reliance on butter, cream and cheese.CHEF WHO FLED COMMUNIST COUNTRY OPENS WORLD'S FIRST MICHELIN-STARRED CUBAN RESTAURANT"Can you really make great French food without butter? Yes and no," Ostrow told Fox News Digital.One solution comes from another ingredient long associated with French cooking.Olivia Ostrow is a Paris-born chef and restaurateur who competed in Food Network's "24 in 24: Last Chef Standing." (Ostrow Global)"There's a little secret called duck fat," she said.But Ostrow and her culinary team have also developed their own non-dairy versions of ingredients that would otherwise be off-limits.SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE FOUND A WAY TO MAKE SAUSAGE ROLLS AND FLAKY PASTRIES MUCH HEALTHIER"We started making our cheese and we started our butter," she said.Maison Ostrow serves its house-made baguettes with roughly seven varieties of its butter alternative, Ostrow said, including truffle, spicy and Provençal versions.Ostrow serves house-made baguettes with butter alternatives like truffle, spicy and Provençal versions.
(Ostrow Global)Diners are sometimes surprised when they learn what they're eating isn't traditional butter, Ostrow said.Yet butter isn't necessarily the toughest obstacle in adapting French cuisine to kosher requirements.YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR TURNS HUMBLE DESSERT SHOP INTO RAPIDLY EXPANDING EMPIRE"Desserts," Ostrow said when asked about the toughest dish to recreate for kosher palates."It's hard."Her team developed an alternative to mascarpone for a tableside take on tiramisu, she said.
Steak au poivre po...