Healthy chef... is there such a thing?

Posted: 14/06/2011 2:46:23 p.m.

I love eating in restaurants. It’s such a thrill to have someone else cook for me, no matter whether it’s a lowly café or full-on fine dining. I recently spent a long weekend away from home, staying in hotels and eating all my meals out at restaurants; such a treat for someone who usually cooks everything. But something interesting occurred to me as I was munching my way through the weekend: it’s really difficult to eat healthily when you’re relying on professional kitchens to make your food.

That’s partly because there are hidden traps in restaurant food. Chefs – as we know from watching them compete with each other on tele – don’t cook like you and I do at home. They’re not there to make sure your kids get their 5 plus a day or your husband doesn’t overdose on animal fat. They’re there to make food that sells, and that means food which appeals to a wide variety of palates.

Often the standard way to do this is to throw fat and salt at the food. And so we get mashed or pureed potatoes and scrambled eggs enriched with equal quantities of cream; sauces finished with generous dobs of butter; deep-fried hash browns and falafels and koftas; heavily creamed soups and spinach and pasta. Things that are healthy, when cooked at home, become a nutritional nightmare when eaten out.

Another thing that’s apparent is that you have to order very deliberately if you want to get anything resembling a serving of vegetables in many restaurants. The veges in very high end restaurants are more likely to be drizzled in a fine, colourful puree around the edge of the plate, or balanced prettily above or beneath the meat or fish in garnish-sized portions. They look and taste amazing, but if you’re looking for your couple of handfuls of veges for dinner you’ll need to check out the small print on the menu for the side dishes.

I think eating out is a pleasure and a treat; on a good night, one of the greatest pleasures there is. I think the best approach to take when looking at a menu is to choose the things that really appeal to you; there’s nothing more depressing – and less satisfying - than choosing food just because it’s healthy. However, we’re eating out more and more now; it is an almost everyday experience for many of us. So it would be wonderful to see more chefs giving health more than a passing thought. Many chefs now are very interested in the provenance and seasonality of their food; in how it was grown and raised and where it comes from. It’s only a small step from there to thinking about the good it might do the eater, beyond the mere pleasure of eating it.