FeedBurner
British Celebrity Chef: Fat
By JULIETTE ROSSANT Since President Barack Obama is going to the UK for the G20 meeting. Super Chef decided to take a closer look at the latest British celebrity chef fat controversy. Is it reasonable to expect that cookbook authors and celebrity chef recipes online to provide us with healthy recipes, low in fat and sodium, when they are not claiming their books or recipes are healthy? The Guardian reports that The Guilty Secret of Celebrity Chefs (PDF), published by The Fat Panel, analized the saturated fat content of a variety of starters, main courses, side orders and desserts from popular cookbooks. It warns that people eating these dishes regularly could be putting their lives at serious risk by bumping up their saturated fat intake. It turns out that Recipes of 15 top chefs which have featured in their bestselling cookery books have been scrutinized by a panel of nutritionists and dieticians and found to contain high levels of unhealthy saturated fat by using ingredients such as butter, double cream and cheese.Among the chefs are Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay, Jean-Christophe Novelli, and John Burton-Race.  How would Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, and pork fat's own Emeril Lagasse compare to the British chefs on the health-o-meter?It seems unwise to only eat celebrity chef food - but the question remains: do most cookbooks and online recipes that don't claim to be low-fat, contain too much fat? And what would The Fat Panel make of the America's celebrity chefs? The G20 will be dining on a meal prepared by Jamie Oliver (see Jamie Oliver: The Food Message for the G20). How did he compare? "Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver are given overall approval, but they are admonished for their frequent use of butter." Let's hope the fat police are not lurking in the 10 Downing Street kitchens. Previous articles: Jamie Oliver: The Food Message for the G20 [Chefs & Politics - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, cookbook reviews --> back to Super Chef |
posted by Juliette Rossant at 3/30/2009 08:38:00 AM
3 Comments:
I think it's silly to criticize celebrity chef recipes for fat and health content. After all, Jill Schmoe in middle America isn't buying Emeril's cookbooks for healthy recipes - they're buying for the name and celeb recognition. Look at the popularity of Paula Deen! I get heartburn just watching her show!
If readers and amateur chefs are really looking for healthy, low-fat recipes then they're buying (and researching) recipes with that in mind.
That said, it'd be nice to have a few celeb chef cookbooks/recipes that are low-fat/low-sodium/etc for those interested on staying on the celeb chef bandwagon.
There is no evidence that a low fat diet or a diet low in saturated fat is good for us. On the contrary, the evidence points to fat being essential to our health regardless of age and health.
For instance, children who suffer from epilepsy and autism are prescribed a diet very high in fat, about 90% by calories, as therapy for the disease. The children return to good health and some are even cured permanently. However once that happens, they are advised to return to a more "normal" diet of low fat, high carb as prescribed by the food pyramid and other nutritional guidelines all over the world.
Here's the question. Why would a diet that is good for the brain be bad for the heart? Why return to a diet that probably caused the condition in the first place?
You'll understand if I find your questions about celebrity chefs and their high fat recipes rather moot.
If a real chef used anything but butter, tallow, schmalz, duck fat, or lard, I would seriously question their integrity. No self-respecting chef would use fake, man-made, highly processed vegetable oils.
I would also question anyone claiming that a recipe is "heart healthy", chef or not. Nutritionist or not. The evidence from the last 50 years of study is either nonexistent or fraudulent.
Saturated fat raises HDL. The higher your HDL, the healthier it is for your heart. Google that one before calling on chefs to administer healthy eating advice.
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home