Kate Krader (@kkrader on Twitter) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to find our culinary heart's desire, we listen up.
You don’t need me, or any chef in the world, to tell you the best ways to keep from gaining weight. They involve breakfast, balanced meals and exercise. Instead, I’ve become fascinated with the less obvious ways that chefs and other people who are constantly around food keep from packing on pounds.
Employ an eating double
Besides being surrounded by food at their jobs, chefs face other caloric challenges. Namely, when they go out to eat, the host chef will invariably send out endless plates of food (they call it “killing you”).
Mission Chinese chef Danny Bowien brings his manager, Allen Yuen, with him when he goes to restaurants. “I make Allen eat everything they send out,” says Bowien. “He’s the closer.”
Fake the alcohol
At some point even the most hardcore bartenders secretly stop drinking. An unnamed mixologist admits to having called ahead to bars to tell them not to put alcohol in his drinks; that way, his friends wouldn’t know he’s not drinking.
Star chef Michael Chiarello (whose new Spanish restaurant opens on San Francisco’s Pier 5 this spring) has the same idea. After one or two gin and tonics, he asks the bartender to just give him tonic with lime, as it looks like the same drink but doesn’t pack any alcohol.
Only eat turkey bacon burgers
By changing his burger habits, Erik Anderson, of The Catbird Seat in Nashville, lost 55 pounds last year. “Anytime I was going to have a regular burger, I had a turkey burger,” says Anderson, who ground in a little bacon with the turkey for obvious taste reasons.
“Sometimes I switched it up with a chicken burger. And I made my sous-chef do it, too. It’s way easier when someone is in it with you.”
Go vegetable soup on Sunday nights
Everyone’s favorite Top Chef judge Gail Simmons makes a big vegetarian soup on Sunday nights, then eats it the one or two nights a week that she doesn’t go out. “My husband thinks it’s a conspiracy: The world is out to make me get fat,” says Simmons, whose Sunday night soup specialties range from kale and white bean to the Italian vegetable soup ribollita, which she makes without bread. “Citrus and parmesan help a lot,” advises Simmons.
Play with your pasta maker
Every once in a while, Richard Blais, the chef at the terrific gastropub The Spence in Atlanta, goes gluten-free. “Farro is a big ingredient right now, and quinoa. Now that I have this pasta extruder, it’s very easy for me to bang out quinoa pasta now, or gluten-free pasta, which makes a difference. For my stomach, eating gluten-free every once in a while really helps me. The whole ‘fat is flavor’ thing - it’s definitely the way of the past.”
Eat a little of everything
“It’s all about taking only a bite of everything,” says Stephanie Izard, whose brand-new Little Goat diner in Chicago includes a bakery and a menu’s worth of non-diet dishes.
“I don’t think there’s any point in going to a restaurant just to order the steamed broccoli. If you want to get the truffled-mashed potato-mixed-medley-of-mac and cheese, or whatever you’re getting, do it. I order things just to eat Parmesan cheese. But I just have a couple of bites.”
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Look, Most chefs are either clinically overweight or clinically obese, fact. Most all chefs we see that are slim are very young so fitness on "The Food Network" is a joke. Any cardiologist, nutritionist or exercise physiologist will tell you to avoid sweets-period. Sugar has absolutely NO nutritional value, none, zip, nada- that may not be desirable but it's true. It contains only bad carbs and is highly addictive. There are good fats (monounsaturated) and bad fats (saturated and trans). Also, anyone not routinely exercising is just not taking care of their body or health-conscious. The obesity epidemic is out of control in the U.S., Great Britain, Australia and other "progressive" countries. Chefs are not taught to take care of us. They are taught to feed us what we crave, period. (M.S. Health)
I am glad you let me comment here. My name is Luis Cabrera, I am a mexican business man. My job is to support and lead people so they can meet success.
My comment is: I do love wine and food
I don't know TV show these guys are watching, but ever see barefoot Contesa, Emeril Paula Dean? They aren't slim.
I watched TOP CHEF the other day and Emeril looks to have gotten even BIGGER now! I can only imagine the health complications he has! It's actually kind of sad.
A Myocardial Infarction waiting to happen......
As far as the "pasta" paragraph-people should actually eat whole wheat pasta not pasta made from white wheat, period.
Who is Richard Blais and why is he so dumb?
There is no fat in gluten, gluten is a protein.
Richard Blais was on top chef a few seasons ago. He was pretty damn good and knows the science aspect of food. I'm guessing it was just the way the quote was edited..
Don't ask Paul Prudhomme.
Paul Prudhomme has actually lost the majority of his corpulency in recent years...
I know gay & straight chefs who are fat and normal weight. It's all in the mind–mind over matter–and exercise, every day do something to get the body moving!
kate krader, is fat.
you mean phat don't you?
Please, like anyone who knows chefs doesn't think the answer is....cocaine.
true dat
Now that was a funny comment.
Is there a good chef out there that is slim?
How do chefs stay slim? Cocaine... Durr
I took over as head chef at the Brattleboro, Vt, Howard Johnson's for Big Eddie when he left to become an auctioneer. He weighed close to five hundred pounds and was the classic skilled but abusive Kitchen King. I stayed a fit 6ft, 170 from the initially hard work... hauling raw foods, chopping, cleaning, supervising, when not facing an open broiler always in motion lifting/shoving/wiping and this 170 despite HoJos having about the only fine, natural ice cream in the sixties waiting in cases out front for me to insoect on "sampling patrols" after closing. BUT once "central" overhauled our kitchen to rely on frozen, portion control, pre-made crahp for steam table storage and microwave serving vs "made from scratch", my workload plummeted and my weight headed up steadily. Then came the hedge fund leveraged buyouts and cost-cutting. Menu prices soared. Portion sizes shrank. Quality and service disappeared... followed soon by a thousand restaurants like ours coast to coast. Two remain: Lake Placid, NY and Bangor, Maine....making do and keeping up appearances. (Hotels are different outfit)
Which restaurant in Lake Placid?
Context, son. Context.
The last of over 1,000 Howard Johnsons... home of premium, high butterfat, pure ingredient ice cream decades before HaggyDaggy (which is good) or that gummy entertainment mess corporate Ben&Jerry's or gawdawful Baskin-Robbus. The restaurant chain which in the 1960's owned the road coast-to-coast and where by 1965, sales exceeded those of McDonald's, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken COMBINED! HoJo's was the second largest food feeder in the U.S., second only to the U.S. Army. Destroyed by hedge-fund leveraged buyouts, debt, and cost-cutting eroding quality.
The last orange-roofed Howard Johnson's with pieman, fountain counter, etc, can be found at 98 Saranac Avenue
Lake Placid, NY 12946
This one opened in 1956
loved the blueberry toasties!
simple, as a cook/chef, you eat raw fruits and vegetables while in the kitchen..
Cooking is a constant, rapid ninja yoga ballet performed in a sauna.
How do chefs stay slim? Probably by spending all their time sweating in a kitchen.
I call major B.S. on the 55lb turkey burger weight loss program. Unless this guy is eating a turkey burgers twice a day instead of beef. Still not believable.
Most chefs do coke. Great way to stay thin.
They stay thin by not taking in more calories than they need. Thermodynamics, people. Calories in vs calories out. Calories are a unit of heat energy. Unless you have a medical condition...chances are this is how your body works. If you eat 3000 and you should be eating 2500 with your macros...you will gain one pound per week.
Read "Good Calories, Bad Calories". All calories are not created equal. Your body handles fat, protein, and carb calories differently.
Wrong. Nutrients are handled differently. Calories are handled exactly the same. It's a calorie, a thermal unit. A calorie is a calorie is a calorie.
Don't believe I've ever seen a skinny chef, unless he's new or gay.
Yes, because straight chefs are fat, and gay ones are fit. And asian ones are good at math. Right?
Whatever happened to actually exercising? Is that a thing of the past, too?
exercise is not nearly as important for weight loss as is limiting your caloric intake.
Wrong they both go hand in hand.
Wrong.
Weight training is the single best way to lose weight.
youre all high and retarded.
Sarah, You're so right! I've been a chef for over 15 years (not a cook, mind you) and I'm in a wheelchair. While no longer on the line, I still run a kitchen of 13 staff and I weigh in at 178 lbs at 5 foot 10 inches. I force myself to eat 6 or 7 times a day to get about 2,800 calories for muscle growth (protein and clean carb mix at about a 60-40 ratio) and I throw iron 5 times a week. Zero cardio! Size 34 pants too!
weight training? are you telling me I have to pick up a few pounds to take them off? What???
Actually, what works best is different for each person. Most people need a healthy balance of diet and exercise, while some people get by on low calories or high exercise.
There's no miracle solution that works for all people equally.
Read the first paragraph.
I have been in the F&B business for over 35 years and agree with the other Chef's posts. Working in a hot kitchen for up to 15 hours a day is physically demanding and you taste food not sit down to 1/2 hour meals. Most of the time I would pick protein while working all day and then sit down at 10 or 11pm for my one meal of the day. Chefs on TV are not subject to this type of routine and fly back and forth from their multiple restaurants. They could do with some good old fashioned kitchen work to slim themselves down.
Whoever you are, this is the only comment I've seen from this article that actually makes sense. Having actually worked in restaurant kitchens in the past as a working chef, not a celebrity chef, I totally agree with you. The reason why there are so many skinny chefs is because you never really have time to actually eat a balanced meal. I used to be the pastry sous chef at Jean-Georges, and I am no longer working as a chef because the lifestyle I was subjected to was completely unhealthy. It doesn't matter what kitchen you work in, but nearly all of the high profile kitchens are physically demanding to the point of exhaustion with no breaks and sometimes one day off a week. So if you scrambling to nibble on some veg or a piece of meat in between mise en place or setting up for service, you definitely lose weight over time. And the stress actually adds to it as well, since you are usually sweating if you are working service at one point or another. Looking forward to the day when food writers inject a dose of realism into their writing instead of the usual PR spin.
I have never seen a slim chef on TV. If there is one they are not famous TV personalities.
Gordon Ramsay is not a chubber
He's too hyper and stressed to eat. Hey, aren't both of those a symptom of cocaine abuse?
umm...Giada???
She ain't no chef. She cooks from cans. Her cooking skills rivals Ray Ray's. She and Nadia G are the only "chef" that cooks in heals and is dressed for her date. Don't get me wrong, if I was at her table and she served me cat food, I probably wouldn't notice.
Alton Brown, Gordon Ramsey, Anthony Bourdain, Bobby Flay, Jamie Oliver, Giada De Laurentis, Eric Rippert, Micheal Roux, Rocco Dispirito, Cat Kora, Robert Irvine...uh, is that enough?
While you are 100% correct, each of them makes enough $$ to afford personal trainers as well. Do everyday chefs make enough to do the same?
Plenty of low-wage line cooks are slim. Why? They don't eat the food they're cooking.
you cant go by what you see on tv. Most of the chefs that I know are skinny. in fact, you cant be fat to be a chef! You get in the damn way if you are too big! kitchens are tight spaces in most restaurants! so quit generalizing!
Chefs eat their mistakes. A good chef makes fewer mistakes, and therefore consumes fewer calories. Fat Chefs are the lowest tier in the culinary world.
At YOUR catered event, do you choose the cookbook author in the Hover-round or the skinny guy with a beer in his hand?
During a Florida Summer, I consume 3600-4000 calories per day, along with 2 gallons of water. I lose 5 to 7 pounds in that 8 month span. (Summer here is March through October)
I am a skinny chef. The very fact that I work full time in the off season proves my talent!
Eat less and exercise? Nah.... that's crazy talk....
Why is Gail Simmons even mentioned in an article about chefs? If they were looking for a female perspective, there are plenty out there that are actually chefs.
Answer - they really don't like the food they make.
According to Anthony Bourdain, chefs stay slim by taking drugs. Lots of drugs.
Probably the hours upon hours of running around in a hot kitchen have something to do with the trim figures as well, yes?
slim? nearly all the chefs on foodtv balloon as the years go by... anyone see rachel ray lately. she's portly. emeril, mario and that man v. food dude, they're packing it on.
Re the Man v. Food guy – I'm surprised he's still even alive. Every episode I've ever seen, he looks like his heart is just going to leap out his throat and say "Enough already, I quit!"
Adam Richman is an actor, not a chef.
Bulimia?
I worked at a resturant,and the chefs had no time to eat,we were ALWAYS working and running around.
But we did eat left-overs.Like sooooo much fried-calamarie and pastas,and lots of other things that people don't eat.I mean that the customers don't eat,we eat
Just wondering how long The Spence will be open.... Blais has run through so many restaurants and investers maybe this time he'll make someone some money
How'd they get a real-life picture of the character from Ratatouille?
hilarious
After working in the industry for 33 years and being a Chef and still being able to "control" my weight if thats' what it's called there are several reasons. 12 hour work days, eating fresher foods and Tasting things means smaller portions. I don't have the lifestyle of sitting at a desk and then cramming 1300 calories down my throat three or four times a day. and then wondering why I have luv handles. I don't need a membership to the gym. I work hard, I eat well, I just don't eat everything I want because I don't have time. I have been a few pounds over my ideal weight a couple of times in my life. But, never fat or overweight. I rarely eat junk food,
I don't think much of this list. Pretending for your friends - or because of some stupid sense of pride - that you are drinking alcohol when you're not is just pitiful. And are you paying regular price for the drinks (or are your friends paying)? What adult submits to peer pressure that readily?
It's a myth that gluten makes you gain weight.
Eating a couple bites of everything is a sensible diet plan. However, ordering a raft of items that you will nibble and leave behind is wasteful.
Vegetable-and-grain/legume soup, on the other hand, is a smart way to balance heavier eating. I make Marcella Hazan's minestrone often. It's extremely filling, low in fat, and nutritionally balanced.
I agree about the peer pressure. It's not hard if you're a professional out having a drink with friends to just say you've had enough.
About the gluten, alot of people just tend to feel better when they cut it out of their diet, since gluten is not as kind to many people's stomachs. Also many people who switch to gluten free will end up either a.)cutting excess carbs from their diet or b.)switching to a majority complex carbohydrate, whole grain diet of brown rice, quinoa, etc.
I have Celiac disease, since cutting out gluten I've dropped about twenty three pounds, with the initial trigger of sixteen pounds in two weeks (when we discovered I had celiac, because my body stopped processing anything that contained gluten). So six pounds, in like four months, but I'm already only five feet tall and a size 0-3, but it does wonders for bloating, and weight gain is rare I find, unless you're eating straight gluten free potato chips and ben and jerry's. But I don't eat bread or heavy calorie foods really, I stay with grilled meats, rice noodles, salads, soups, veggies, gluten free can almost translate to low carb, and we know how that works for celebrities and fitness moguls, pretty well. So not all gluten free foods are going to be great for weight loss, but it's not a myth, it can really help in productive weight loss. Plus more people are sensitive to it than you'd think, my life has been changed forever, and while I can't go out and enjoy a burger whenever, I can still fit into my jeans when I was fourteen. :)
I stay thin by binge drinking instead of eating. If I get too hungry, I smoke some cigarettes and think about floating in outer space for a while. I'll be that's what most chefs are doing too. This article is probably bunk.
Skinny chefs are the exception but once again CNN is clueless
First of all, there are plenty of overweight and obese chefs.
Second, the slim ones, often smoke cigarettes, snort coke, drink coffee, etc
simple: small portions.
Considering the lucrative profession they're in and the number of hours they have to stay up, it's probably all the cocaine they go thru...
Or simply be on your feet 10 hours/day 6 days a week as a chef.
Chefs dont eat much because they know what goes on in their kitchens. :)
After being around food 12-13 hours a day you do not want to eat. After opening a restaurant last year I lost 22 lbs. It's not the healthiest I can tell you that but I only eat 1 meal a day and it's around 10pm after I'm home. Most of the time it's scrambled eggs and chips, anything but what I'm cooking all day.
I thought the same thing when I saw the headline. When I'm around any food for too long, I don't have any desire to eat it.
They left out the most important point which is WORK. Good chefs stay thin because we're working in the kitchen instead of just eating. It is very intense manual labour, usually in a hot environment. Cooking for hours is similar to spending time at the gym. We also spit at wine and dessert tastings.
E. Sun – NYC
Momma said never trust a skinny chef.
The secret is partying and the blow they do after working all day in a hot kitchen.
The chef in the photos eyes are dialated like tea cup saucers. Usually you see that when someone is smoking crack rocks.
The whole gluten free thing is a joke and is for the elitist crowd that likes fads. Unless you have a digestive issue there is no need to go gluten free. And fat is taste...that will always be true. That isn't to say you need fat for something to taste good. It's just a fact, fat does add taste. I have an idea for losing weight. Move more, eat less. It ain't that complex folks. Plus these chefs are probably eating fresh foods and laboring over their meals. They are not shoving microwave meals in their pie holes.
there sure isn't an I in team but there is a U in dou che
No I in team, but there is an I in win.
Oh sure... just get the truffle mac and cheese for $25 and take a few bites... don't bother taking it home either it will tempt you on your vegetable soup night. This article was very disappointing.
Gee, how does one stay thin when one likes to eat (as most do).
Tough question. That's right it's not a tough question.
Exercise!
What exercise, madness. Fatties are so lazy.
Oh that's right it's always glandular, or they are "big boned".
It's not the fatty foods, or sugar rich foods, or even fast food, it's genetic. Humans and their excuses, they find so many reasons to avoid exercise. The worst part is they "infect" their kids. It's not as if their 5 year old does the food shopping.
Really Grim? Must you use insulting language? This article was not about overweight people, yet you insist on being demeaning and rude. Did your comment in any way further educate the public on the effects of obesity? No. Did it encourage soemone affected by obesity to improve their health? No. Did your comment provide some astounding breakthrough concept/thought that has now restructured teh way in which we treat obesity? No. Your comment and name calling was ignorant, and hurtful any only perpetuated weigh bias. As a former overweight woman who has worked her tail off to be healthy I still find it offensive when people such as yourself feel the need to use ignorant and rude language. I'm am sure that someone you love is overweight. Would you speak to them in such a way? Probably not, and moreover, you would be upset if others did. Keep that mind the next time you seek to make people feel bad about themselves.
That's because you're a chick, the truth is the truth, deal with it.
It's not "because she's a chick". Fat guys are dumb too.
Hey Stephanie, I am glad you are longer a fatty but let's be honest, you only had yourself to blame. Sometimes humans need a kick in the ass to see things clearly. It is VERY EASY to stay healthy, but as humans what we WANT trumps what we really need. Fatties are a perfect example of that human flaw. I hope as you get older you don't become a fattie again, it's very hard on the elderly.
I do 250 push-ups a day and that's it but I watch what I eat, I'm 44. I don't do it because I WANT to but because I should, something the fatties can't seem to get through all that blubber.
I was going to write more of a response, but I'm feeling kinda lazy.
I gave up sugar and alcohol for 90 days and immediately lost 10 pounds! Sugar and processed foods are huge culprits in our failure to stay/remain leaner.
Good news! I found those 10 lbs you lost andI I'm sending them back. Slowly. Just keep checking they'll show up.
Moo-Ha-ha-ha!
RE: Chef Blais eating FARRO as 'gluten free'–FARRO IS NOT GLUTEN FREE. It does have less gluten than regular wheat products, but is NOT GLUTEN FREE. Secondly, being gluten-free does not automatically make any food less caloric–gluten free is not a way to lose or maintain weight, it is addressing a health issue for those sensitive to it.
Word. I second all of your statements, Carrie. This is why people who do not eat gluten – as a medical necessity – do not go out to eat. Maybe he should put down his silly molecular gastronomy tools and take a refresher course in basic ingredients.
I serviced white table cloth restaurants for over ten years. I can think of only a couple of my chef customers who weren't overweight. Many were really fat.
I'm not a professional chef so am not surrounded by foods 12 hours a day but in my own kitchen if I am making a dish I have made many times before, I simply never taste it unless I have gotten distracted and forget whether I remembered the salt (or some similar omission). When I am baking, even with a new recipe, I NEVER EVER EVER taste. No licks, no bowl, no spatula, no beaters. If it's an old recipe I already know exactly what it tastes like. If it's a new recipe I will trust that if I honor the proportions it will be edible. Then I wait for the reaction of my diners. I don't eat sweets so am not at risk of putting on weight from desserts.
You should always taste your food. Always.
"I don't eat sweets".
In that case, fork off. No one needs you anyway.
Oh no, no! Always taste your food, no matter what. We, Chefs always do. And this article is a good debate among Chefs who are conscious about food and their weight. There are plenty of professional Chefs that are slim or thin. Some of the comments put up on this have been written by ignorant people who have NO clue what goes on behind the scenes in a hot and busy kitchen. We do watch our weight (if some of us care) and we do cook ourselves some really good stuff when we find the time to do so. A diverse group of Chefs is better than just the big and round ones.
While the article was interesting in noting what chefs do eat (or don't), there is no real information of value with regards to the average joe.
Best advice to lose weight and keep it off is easy and you don't need special menus, powders or drinks. It's free:
At the turn of the 20th Century the average American consumed 1 pound of additional refined sugars. At the turn of the 21st Century the average American now consumes a whopping 160 pounds of additional refined sugars!
Lose the sugar, lose the belly. IT'S THAT SIMPLE.
"An unnamed mixologist admits to having called ahead to bars to tell them not to put alcohol in his drinks; that way, his friends wouldn’t know he’s not drinking. "
If you have to do this, your friends are jerks.
I was thinking that too. That's pretty juvenile advice.
Restaurant biz is known for hard partying. It comes with the territory.Cut him some slack!
I was thinking, if you have to do this, you still haven't outgrown middle school peer pressure! Sheesh, not drinking is not a crime!
That's what I was thinking too! Why can't you just tell your dumb fat friends to shove it 'cause you're having diet Coke?
Also, screw turkey burgers. Bison is where it's at!
Try ostrich as well. Ostrich is a very healthy meat.
Man do I have an obsession with Ostrich burgers... as well as bison, elk, venison and grass-fed beef burgers!! :) Where do you get your ostrich? My supplier keeps increasing the price!
I eat a steady supply of tapeworm-rich foods to keep my girly figure.
Fo' schizzle, Jdizzle?