Closet Chefs:
Lanette Jarvis: Making a Change

by Bill Ernst

This is the latest in a series about executives living in Seminole County for whom cooking is a passion and a wonderful change of pace from their exacting careers

Lanette Jarvis, national PR director for Ruth’s Chris Steak House, talks about her transition to healthier eating. After experiencing Hurricane Katrina first-hand in New Orleans and witnessing the resiliency of the people there, she decided to make a change in her life. Under the coaching of her personal trainer and life coach Roland Rock Kilburn of Body-Rock, and with the support of her family at home and the Lake Mary-based Ruth’s Chris Steak House Corp­oration, Jarvis has lost 90 pounds so far by exercising regularly, cooking healthfully at home, and making the right choices when dining out. Jarvis shares the tools she learned to eat right for a lifetime.

First Course
Lanette Jarvis, born in Texas, moved with her family to New Orleans when she was an infant. Growing up, she learned meat-and-potatoes cooking from her Texas mom, but it was the Crescent City that had the greatest culinary impact on her. At 18, while at school in Lafayette, LA, starting as a server, she worked at a Ruth’s Chris Steak House for several years before transferring to the original Ruth’s Chris in New Orleans, where she worked directly under founder Ruth Fertel. Fertel’s friendship had a significant influence on Jarvis—in fact, part of her job as PR director involves telling of her experience with her, and sharing Fertel’s philosophy.

Jarvis has worn many hats during her years with the company: server, manager, and traveling trainer. She moved to Central Florida in 1990 as the general manager of the Altamonte Springs location (formerly in the Interior Decor Center on Douglas Ave.), and then served for a time as a regional vice president. But in order to take the position as National PR Director, she moved to the company’s corporate headquarters in New Orleans in January 2005. That August, Katrina hit, devastating New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The storm caused Ruth’s Chris to move their corporate offices to Lake Mary, and Jarvis credits moving back to Orlando after the hurricane with saving her life. If she had remained in New Orleans she might not have begun her healthy journey with Body Rock.

After the hurricane, her role was to locate the employees, communicate that there was money waiting for them at the nearest Ruth’s Chris or wire money if they were not nearby, and find jobs for them at restaurants in other cities. She staffed the phones for 30 days at the emergency employee line, and contacted employees with the help of the Red Cross. And she used something new: texting. “Immediately after the storm, text messaging was the only form of communication that worked,” she says. “Everyone was scattered around the United States. We were hosting VIP parties for the new Biloxi location when the storm hit. About 600 employees from New Orleans and Biloxi were evacuated.

Ruth’s Chris is dedicated to New Orleans, and community service is another aspect of Jarvis’s job. The company has already re-opened one restaurant in New Orleans and plans to open more. Taking care of the employees and giving back to the city is important to the company, and Jarvis spearheads much of that work.

A New Outlook
By her own admission, Jarvis was unhealthy at the time: 150 pounds overweight and a long-time smoker. But she was inspired by the stories of what employees had to endure after the storm. “If they survived Katrina, I could surely get my life in order and change my life.”

As luck would have it, when she returned to Florida, she connected with her friend Eva Krzewinski, president of The Florida Federation of Business & Professional Women’s Clubs. At a women’s power lunch that Jarvis and Krzewinski co-founded, Jarvis re-discovered Krzewinski’s great success in working with Roland Rock Kilburn of Body-Rock: Krzewinski had lost more than 175 pounds, which saved her life in many respects. Jarvis followed her lead to Body-Rock.

When Jarvis first started working with Kilburn, he showed her how to cook and eat more healthfully. One year later, she had lost 60 pounds and quit smoking. Now at roughly the 18-month mark, she has lost a total of 90 pounds and has just celebrated being smoke-free for a year.

Lanette attributes her success to Kilburn’s knowledge, expertise and talent as she trains for an hour five days a week. They cook a healthful breakfast together every morning and, on occasion, lunch. He has come to her home several times to prepare a healthful meal with her family, so that they learn to cook healthfully, too.

“We used to eat high-calorie and high-fat all the time. Now we eat leaner, and a lot more fish. Sometimes we just have grilled vegetable dinners,” she says. “I’ve always known that Ruth’s Chris has choices that are healthy. But Roland teaches his clients how to dine out. It’s easy to find healthy choices on the Ruth’s Chris menu.”

Traditions are a factor, too, she says. “As soon as I would go home [to New Orleans], I used to think I needed a po’ boy and gumbo. Replacing traditions, and replacing your normal mode of cooking, is key to getting nutritionally sound.” For example, instead of salted cashews, “get roasted unsalted cashews. There’s a healthier replacement for everything.”

Jarvis enjoys entertaining and still has parties at home, but now she introduces her guests to better options. “We might have one or two dips—not to be eaten in excess—like a spinach dip. I do a lot of grilled shrimp, too. Ahi tuna is one of my favorite dishes at Ruth’s Chris, and it’s also one of my favorites at a home party. It’s healthy, trendy, and everybody loves it.”

Just Desserts
Jarvis credits her employer for a large share of her improved state of being. “Ruth’s Chris has been more supportive of me than I ever thought a company could be,” she says. “I needed to work out at seven and get to work at eight. I work through my lunch hour, generally, because I bring a salad and generally eat light. So now I have the mornings to work out.” Not everyone can do that, she knows, but suggests that “sometimes all you need to do is ask your employer. If you tell them ‘I’m fighting something strong, I really need to go after it, and I need your help,’ you might be pleasantly surprised. That also makes you accountable because you’ve asked for a special exception,” she adds. “You work the same number of hours, but different hours. In return, you will be a healthier, happier, more productive employee.”

Her impact on her own workplace is starting to show. “Believe it or not, I’ve influenced others at work—they’ve begun bringing in more healthy snacks,” she says, “The company was ready for it. We all survived a devastation in New Orleans. We were all ready.” S

For more information about Ruth Fertel and Ruth’s Chris menu options: ruthschris.com.
To contact Roland Rock Kilburn of Body-Rock: 407.953.ROCK; gethealthycoach@yahoo.com.

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