Big-Time Chefs with Slender Waistlines

Published on Thursday, December 17, 2009, by James Norton / Edit Post

How do chefs at the top of their game stay thin? Well, oftentimes they don't: There's a long, proud history of chunky chefs that's unlikely to end so long as butter and bacon make food taste delicious, and chefs are entrusted with their awesome powers.

The Hungry Beast looks to six working chefs who have maintained trim physiques to figure out how those in the business can beat the fat. Nibbling, exercise, stable routines, the occasional indulgence, a ban on stress eating, and never eating while standing up represent the cream that floated to the top of the interviews. But what it seems to boil down to is this: discipline. If you're not aware of what you're doing and you're a food-motivated person, you're going to plump up. If you work on it daily and keep hitting the gym, you've got a fighting chance. Not breaking news, but interesting when contextualized within the "all food, all the time" world of professional cookery.

Image source: Flickr member sylvar under Creative Commons

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POST A COMMENT |7 Comments

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  • Excellent article contains many good suggestions for people in general, not just the chefs.

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  • As from my experience as being a chef for quite some time it is really hard not to eat when you are cooking. The best taste you get is righ off the fire and i couldn't really find a way to stop that habbit eating while cooking standing up.

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  • It is really difficult to learn to nibble, I mean a professional chef is one thing, but at home while being a housewife. It's much more difficult to find a job when your body shape is not as slim as it should be. Obesity is not attractive at all. I hurray and bow to those chefs.
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  • Hey that’s a nice observation! Though I never thought the way Mr. Todd Mohr did, but now when I think of it… The one chef who fits Mr. Todd’s description is Chef Mehta; he was the runner up of the cooking reality show ‘The Next Iron Chef’ and owns a restaurant called Graffiti in the east Village in NYC. In fact during one of the Iron Chef episodes the chefs had to select some Bento boxes and Chef...+READ

    Hey that’s a nice observation! Though I never thought the way Mr. Todd Mohr did, but now when I think of it… The one chef who fits Mr. Todd’s description is Chef Mehta; he was the runner up of the cooking reality show ‘The Next Iron Chef’ and owns a restaurant called Graffiti in the east Village in NYC. In fact during one of the Iron Chef episodes the chefs had to select some Bento boxes and Chef Mehta selected the daintiest box stating that his food is all about small, neat proportions. He has an amazingly warm and approachable personality. I have always been looking for healthy and tasty recipes and that is how I started reading about him. I found a lot of his videos and his book Mantra: The Rules of Indulgence very interesting I concur that a thin chef makes a better chef because he/she is more active, efficient and fast in the kitchen.-COLLAPSE

  • There is a big difference between dietitians and chefs, some chefs are so passionate about food they do not look at the nutritional side. We shouldn't confuse the two professions As a Chef my passion in the kitchen is creating something that tastes great, not always thinking of proper nutrition. I also know that those dishes are not intended to eat in large quantities.

  • Cheers to the skinny chefs!

  • I don't trust a fat chef, they're unconcerned about the health and nutrition aspects of their profession. Would you go to a doctor that smokes in the exam room? How about sign up with a flabby fitness coach? Perhaps a dermatologist with bad acne? It's inconsistent to me, a chef that can't control themselves around food.

    It's a nice stereotype of days past that larger chefs are "healthy", and...+READ

    I don't trust a fat chef, they're unconcerned about the health and nutrition aspects of their profession. Would you go to a doctor that smokes in the exam room? How about sign up with a flabby fitness coach? Perhaps a dermatologist with bad acne? It's inconsistent to me, a chef that can't control themselves around food.

    It's a nice stereotype of days past that larger chefs are "healthy", and not in a healthy way. Skinny people are "unhealthy" according to grandmas everywhere. "Here, eat more, it'll go to waste."

    We, as chefs, have a responsibility to project an over-all healthy lifestyle as the directors of the FUEL we put in our bodies. Eating is enjoyable, but it has a function first.

    The article makes many good suggestions for people in general, not just chefs.-COLLAPSE