Each week a celebrity tells us what they're putting in their mouth - and our nutritionist gives them a report card in the award winning Sunday Star Times Escape section. 2009 winner - Health Section Qantas Media Awards
6.15am: The day starts 60km south of Auckland in the Bombay hills. Expresso strong.
8am: I meet my head chefs at Kermadec to discuss the day’s business with a round of expresso and a basket of croissants. Meeting last 20 minutes.
Noon: Lunch starts with 125 booked in the brasserie and 52 in the restaurant; check the reservation book for regulars, make a note to ring the oyster table. I quickly taste all the sauces and check the garnishes. I consume on average three litres of mineral water during each service which means six litres a day.
3.30pm: Lunch is finished, 175 happy customers and lots of compliments about Tetsuya’s green macaroons.
6pm: Dinner service starts with 168 booked and a full restaurant with 85 guests - we are going to get a good old fashioned slamming tonight, when everybody wants to eat at the same time. By now I am so hungry I could eat a horse (I used to when I lived in France), but a piece of grilled snapper with a rocket salad and a glass of pinot blanc will do. I wolf it all down.
8pm: The kitchen is running like a well-oiled machine, chefs toil, with big booming accents calling the orders.
9pm: By now the stress level is equivalent to open heart surgery with a garden spade. My job is to keep all of this stress, aggression and talent focused. God, I love this job.
11pm: Dinner service is over for more than 250 guests. Floors are scrubbed, stove tops are burnished, rubbish removed. The brigade has taken up seats outside for a quiet beer, a cigarette and the usual round of story telling.
Midnight: I ring all the orders for the next day, then grab a bowl of salad, a couple of fresh oysters, a glass of wine, baguette and some cheese and eat on the run. The day is over, we sold a lot of John Dory and scampi tonight. The kitchen is as clean as a hospital operating theatre. Veal stock goes on and my trip back home to the country begins. Am I eating 5+ a day? Well, I could say of course every day, I am a chef after all. The reality is my body tells me what I need to eat and I apply the rule - you’re a long time dead and if there is some foie gras going, I’m in. All things in moderation.
Jacquie says
Just like a car that runs on petrol, the body runs on nutrients from food and lots of nutrients are needed for a long day in hospitality.
Peter’s day resembles an endurance event. Not a single worthy nutrients besides water is consumed until 6pm when he is so hungry he could eat a horse. Stress can be motivating and addictive, but cumulative ongoing stress can wreak havoc on the body. Waiting until 6pm to eat is like expecting to drive the car to work without petrol in the tank, Although Peter makes some healthy choices with his meals, they are eaten too late in the day and often wolfed down in a hurry. I’d never tell a man with this much passion for his job to slow down, but I would remind him to get more sleep and explain the benefits of a nutritional programme for peak performance at work.
Each week a nutritionist from Real Nutrition looks over a celebrity's diet. For award winning health articles and a really good read - check out the Sunday Star Times each Sunday.
