BY LEAH A. ZELDES
Posted Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Is there a Midwestern cuisine? Some coastal types impugn this region's culinary style as bland, but those who know better point to the rich, intrinsic flavors of heartland foodstuffs.

Stephen Langlois was one of the pioneering chefs who brought local food to national attention during the height of the contemporary awakening to American cuisine when he opened the groundbreaking Prairie in Printers Row.

Under Langlois from 1986 to 1997, the restaurant in the Hyatt on Printers Row hotel showcased the best Midwestern ingredients with a menu of strictly regional fare - even steering clear of ocean fish - well before "eat local" became a culinary catchphrase.

The chef's techniques are so memorable that Cleveland Plain Dealer Food Editor Joe Crea was still writing about Prairie's signature duck dish last year. Langlois' 1990 cookbook, "Prairie: Cuisine from the Heartland" (Contemporary Books), is out of print but used copies can still be found through online booksellers.

Before Prairie, Langlois, a graduate of the hospitality program at Triton College in River Grove and the Culinary Institute of American in Hyde Park, N.Y., worked at the erstwhile Chicago restaurants Cafe D'Artagnan and Maxim's and the Pulitzer Hotel in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Since leaving Prairie, the Northbrook resident has been executive chef of the Hyatt Lodge in Oak Brook, where he oversees the casual American Water's Edge restaurant and the Mediterranean Piazza, as well as the banquet kitchens and catering for Hamburger University at the adjacent headquarters of McDonald's Corp.

How did you become interested in cooking? When I was a kid, we lived in Boston and had a summer home in Maine. We moved here when I was 12 years old, but we still went to Maine every summer, all the way till I was 18. All my friends had jobs in restaurants. I was kind of bored hanging out on the beach by myself, so I'd go and visit them. Eventually, one of the restaurant owners said, "Steve, as long as you're here...." The career kind of chooses you.

You started out in restaurants with a European focus, right? Cafe D'Artagnan was casual French in Lincoln Park. Maxim's (now a private meeting facility) was a replica of a place they had in Paris. I worked for Jean Joho there. It's funny. I got homesick in Amsterdam and came home and I wound up working in a completely European kitchen. I was the only American there.

So why the Midwestern focus at Prairie? I always had a keen interest in American regional cuisine. When we opened Prairie, California cuisine was really going. The Midwest was coming of age.

How do you define Midwestern cuisine? The short answer ... think of Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey and cranberry sauce and wild rice and apple pie. It's hearty American fare.

Tell us about your current job: I'm executive chef for the Hyatt Lodge out here at McDonald's headquarters. We have two restaurants and we cater over 100 weddings a year. The grounds are absolutely beautiful. Plus we do a lot of corporate events and provide all the food to Hamburger University. A lot of our business - 70 to 80 percent - is McDonald's, but we're open to the public, too. The hotel is owned by McDonald's. A lot of people don't know this, but Hyatt is strictly a management company.

Do you do much cooking? I do quite a bit, especially helping some of the cooks on the banquets. I try to cook as much as I can, especially when a VIP is here. I cook really a lot of everything. Today, I'm doing more Italian food, Mediterranean and trying out fresh new ideas for our banquets.

Tell us about this recipe: Prairie Corn Chowder with Andouille Sausage, Cheese and Popcorn. This was a recipe I used to do at Prairie, but now I do it with andouille sausage.

Try this at home or at the Hyatt Lodge, 2815 Jorie Blvd., Oak Brook, (630) 990-5800.