By Judith Weinraub
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 5, 2006; F01

This week, after 10 years in the Food section and 25 years at The Washington Post, I’m leaving to take advantage of the paper’s recent buyout offer. What better opportunity, my editor thought, to let me indulge in a few reflections on what I’ve seen and learned about food, restaurants, eating healthfully, dieting and the local food community. You will see why I have enjoyed my job:

The Washington area has become a great place to cook. You can get just about any ingredient you need — thanks in no small part to the growing number of stores that cater to the foods and flavorings of immigrant communities.

Fantastic farmers markets abound, making it possible to buy fresh, locally grown or produced food. And the offerings at area supermarkets have expanded to meet customer desire (and the popularity of the Whole Foods markets). Some even carry organic foods. (Ten or 15 years ago, if you wanted organic, you had to go to those quaintly named “health food” stores.)

It’s also a great place to learn to cook. You can study just about any culinary technique or style. Some of the area’s finest chefs share their knowledge by giving cooking classes. So do the teachers at L’Academie de Cuisine, one of the best culinary schools in the country. For 30 years, at its two branches in Bethesda and Gaithersburg, L’Academie has trained enthusiastic amateurs as well as aspiring chefs and pastry chefs (many of whom work in area restaurants).

In the past 10 years, the restaurant (and catering) scene here has become one to be proud of. Some truly great chefs work here. And their presence seems to enhance and encourage the work of the many other fine professionals cooking here. Restaurant cooking staffs — many from local immigrant communities — play a vital role, too, as they share ideas and recipes from their own culinary traditions.

Not everyone realizes that those same chefs and cooks play another key role in the community by volunteering to cook for charity events, school auctions and other fundraising activities, as well as teaching at entry-level training programs such as the one at the D.C. Central Kitchen.

But even without that contribution, they serve the community by spending long, high-pressure hours on their feet trying to please their clients. The level of their consistency amazes me. Sure, there are some cranky servers in the dining room and misfires in the kitchen. But give your hosts a break. If you experience poor service or hate the food, speak up politely and immediately. Give the restaurant a chance to make you happy.

And now a few words about dieting. From the vantage point of my desk, I see people treating dieting as if it were magic. The first piece I wrote for this section was about the then-phenomenally popular Cabbage Soup Diet. Nothing I’ve written before or since elicited as much response as that story. Readers sent letters and called (no e-mail then), questioning me relentlessly about the details of the diet — even after I wrote a second piece that exposed it as a hoax.

People tracked me down at home on weekends with questions such as, “Can you put butter on your vegetables on the all-vegetable day?” That’s when I realized that even the smartest people lose all reason when it comes to dieting — assuming, hoping, praying that without changing their behavior very much, the next diet will be the one that works.

Well, here’s the stop-the-presses news: No matter what anybody tries to tell you or sell you, there is no magic to weight control. Calories do count. Controlling portion size is crucial — you don’t have to finish everything on your plate. And the most healthful way to eat is to avoid processed foods whenever possible, and to follow balanced approaches such as the Mediterranean diet with its emphasis on fruits and vegetables, whole grains, small amounts of protein, healthy fats (read: olive oil), a glass of wine. And exercise.

Finally, it would be inappropriate to walk out the door without words of thanks to a few other people in the lives of food reporters: to the chatters who participate in our weekly online conversations and give us direct feedback; the scientists at universities and government agencies who answer our persistent food questions; the food enthusiasts, think tanks and watchdog groups that make us aware of subjects we haven’t yet covered; and, of course, to all of you, who’ve read this far, and will, I’m sure, continue to learn about the food world, on our pages and at our Web site.