All About Food:

Some of the nicest people we meet in our job are publicists who often invite us to all kinds of interesting events. Only last week we met Melinda Morgan, a longtime Laguna resident and avid cook. Her agency, Morgan Marketing and PR, focuses on the food business. Her first big client was Winchell’s Donuts. She wrote a heartfelt pitch to the company, saying that she had been eating their donuts since she was 2. They were her special treat every Sunday after church. She got the job and was so successful at it that word of mouth has been keeping her busy ever since. The companies she represents include: King’s Hawaiian Bakery, Wildfish Seafood Grille, the Rusty Pelican, Wienerschnitzel, Daphne’s and Panda Express.

Her newest client is True Food Kitchen, an Arizona-based restaurant, which is the brainchild of Andrew Weil and restaurateur Sam Fox, who are about to open their second True Food Kitchen in Fashion Island, featuring delicious food that happens to be healthy and affordable. Weil is the author of many books on living and dining healthfully. You probably will recognize him from his frequent appearances on “Oprah,” “Larry King Live” and the “Today Show.” He is also a columnist for Prevention and Time magazines.

Fox is building an empire, which consists of 38 restaurants. A while ago, Weil invited Fox and his family to dinner at his desert ranch and prepared a delicious healthy dinner including fresh veggies from his large garden in an attempt to persuade Fox that healthy food could be wonderful (as well as a great new restaurant concept).

Fox, a meat-and-potatoes man, and Weil, a pescatarian, decided to collaborate and struggled for a long time to put to together a menu that satisfied both of them. They hired chef Michael Stebner, who said his cooking style has always been “healthy without trying to be healthy” because he uses the best quality organic food available. He is also proud of the fact that at True Food Kitchen he uses only about three pounds of butter a day to feed 700 to 900 people. The restaurant’s menu is based on a combination of Asian and Mediterranean cuisine. The staff also has adopted a healthier lifestyle, and the restaurant has the lowest turnaround of any of Fox’s other establishments. Unlike most restaurants, they are happy to give out their recipes because they want people to be healthy. Best of all, the prices are moderate.