With the finest dishes into fattiness?
Restaurant Tester: Eating at the Best Chefs and Chefs Around the World and Getting Paid For It - A Dream Job?
When I tell my friends about my second job, they say: "Wow, you go to lovely restaurants and get paid for it - isn't that a dream, or?"
And it's true: I get to visit the most beautiful restaurants in the world, charming bistros in Paris, and hip fine-dining addresses in Athens. Last week, I was at Disfrutar, the hottest restaurant in the world in Barcelona, and the Le Bernardin in New York, where Eric Ripert, the chef of the gourmet temple, cooks the best fish. If someone wants a table there, they often have to wait months and then pay a small fortune for an evening. But I always get a table - and every visit is tax-deductible, and I even get paid for it, because I write about it. Is it a dream job?
Pete Wells says: Maybe. Wells is one of the most famous restaurant critics in the world, who tested the best restaurants in New York for the "New York Times." But I have to admit: He was the most famous restaurant critic in the world. Because he underwent a stomach operation and, after a look at his blood test, his doctor discovered: It's not going well. Wells' values were alarming: Beginning liver disease, pre-diabetes, cholesterol in the red zone, and an American body mass index that was far too high.
So the critic decided to hang up his fork and knife - because he wanted to grow older than the 61 years he has today. And Wells is not the only one whose dream job - now that's a dream - is growing, and not in a good way. Because whoever wants to fill this task properly and passionately, they eat a lot, and that's just the way it is.
Three Lunches and Five Dinners
During research trips for major articles, I visit at least eight restaurants, bistros, brasseries in five days. That makes three lunches and five dinners - with menus that are usually multi-course. Sometimes it's only four dishes, but in France, it's often seven or more, Amuse Bouche and the small Petit Fours at the end not included.
Recently, I was for a work lunch at Alexandre Mazzia's. He was once a basketball player in France. And then he decided that he would rather be a cook. He was a good athlete - and then an even better cook. The three stars he earned himself in barely five years. Currently, he cooks for the Olympians in Paris, on the orders of President Emmanuel Macron.
At lunch in his very beautiful restaurant in the eastern Marseille, there were 26 dishes. No kidding. 26 small plates full of delicacies. Oysters with razor clams, sea bass, steak, beans with harissa, at least six desserts. I repeat: 26 dishes. Full of aromas, spices, and irresistibles. Wine pairing included, understood. At 4:30 pm, we left his restaurant very happy and very drunk. Oh, and: Very full.
But unfortunately, the day did not end with a jogging run in the Provencal Calanques. No, because at 8 pm, the next restaurant was waiting. Eight dishes plus wine. Because after all, it was a business trip and not a vacation. Can that be healthy?
A golden critic's rule also states: I don't order what I like, but I choose a cross-section through the menu, in order to - far from my preferences - truly learn the entire culinary art - and to check how precise, fresh and good this or that cook really works.
In many cases I visit restaurants without prior notice. However, sometimes I travel with my photographer, then the chefs consider special and additional dishes to present their philosophy and signature dishes to the critic. This makes the menus even bigger and on top of that, there's wine, not just for pleasure, but also to test the connection between the aromas in the food and the wine pairing.
That's automatically way more than the 2400 calories that a man over 40 should consume per day - much more. And in any case, it's also more than the one glass of wine per day that the European Society for Cardiology considers relatively harmless.
"No, thank you"
But it's not just the quantities that put pressure on critic's bodies. It's also the multitude of aromas and spices, herbs and cooking methods. In fine dining and in starred restaurants in general, every dish is not just cooked, but fermented and worked with additives, especially in molecular gastronomy. Most pieces of meat and fish are not thrown on the grill, but sous-vide cooked and then cooled and reheated, so there are countless production steps and each refines the food, but not necessarily makes it more appealing.
A colleague told me recently that her stomach had been severely attacked by years of testing - all those aromas and preparations had added to it - and even the chefs' habit of offering the critic extra delicacies, such as oysters or the best foie gras, was hard to resist? Who can say "No" to that?
But that's exactly the simplest formula for meeting death on credit: clear and loud: "No" to say - or in my case as France correspondent for "Der Feinschmecker": "No, thank you." I no longer test the largest menus, but a cross-section - and I no longer take any additional dishes. I renounce the wine pairing, but instead I usually choose a bottle that my companion and I share throughout the evening. The body is not completely overloaded.
Moreover, I'm lucky that I'm only a part-time tester and that I test restaurants and bistros only once a week as part of my job as a writer. This leaves enough time for healthy cooking at home or for the simple sourdough bread with old Comté, which, while not entirely calorie-free, is unbeatable in simplicity and joy.
Despite this: When I look at myself critically today and compare my figure with photos from my pre-critic days, I would say: Ten kilos have come in the last five years, and there have been mornings with a heavy head and heavy stomach, wondering if all that feasting of the previous evening was necessary.
On the other hand: Besides the kilos, there have also come countless beautiful moments, dishes that will remain in my memory forever like the chicory with vinegar from star chef Alexander Mayer or the raw fluke with capers from Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin in New York. Encounters with chefs and cooks who carry so much passion within them and are true artists like Elena Arzak in San Sebastian or Fabian Feldmann in Biarritz. And that's why I'm sticking with it: I enjoy testing very much and I will continue to do so in the name of good taste, because even the most beautiful profession has side effects.
- As a restaurant tester, I'm often exposed to an array of international dishes, including the exquisite offerings at Alexandre Mazzia's in Marseille, which featured 26 different plates, each bursting with flavors from around the world.
- Regardless of the health implications, I've learned to navigate this job with moderation, choosing a cross-section of dishes and opting for shared wine bottles instead of multiple wine pairings to limit excess intake.
- Although the job comes with its challenges, such as the impact on my agility due to the frequent consumption of rich and heavy dishes, the joy of discovering new culinary delights and meeting passionate chefs continues to outweigh these side effects for me.
