Good food brings happiness, but sometimes there can be too much happiness. Take food critics and influencers, who review restaurants and new menus and bring us their feedback. Does being a food writer who has to eat out constantly mean making compromises when it comes to a healthy diet? How do such people balance their job and health goals? Turns out, there are some tricks of the trade.
Tasting notes
Figure out the basic anthem of a food tasting, which is portion control. “I do ‘tastings’… I pace myself to taste little bits and pieces. If you chomp up the very first course, you will not be able to fairly judge the last few courses. Look at wine tasters—they sniff and swirl and sip and then spit. And still end up doing a great job of tasting,” says Mumbai-based food critic and author Rashmi Uday Singh.
You needn’t down a cask to detect the vintage, a sip does it. After the pandemic, there has been an enhanced emphasis on wellness and mindful living, which has made most people conscious about their health, including those who eat out for a living. Flip through TV shows and food documentaries on Netflix and spot fit chefs and judges like Vikas Khanna, Gordon Ramsay, Ranveer Brar and Garima Arora. “The Chinese do not trust an overweight gourmet,” points out Singh. “A gourmet is supposed to know his or her food, and therefore what to eat.”
Tweezer food
Food critics don’t ask for small portions or a particular style of plating and serving. Samantha Noronha, content lead at digital food publication Mumbai Foodie, says, “If I set restrictions on what and how much will arrive on a plate, then it becomes more about what I want to eat and less about what the restaurant has to offer.”
Noronha says one should eat intuitively. “You can grip the gist of a restaurant through six dishes, rather than 16,” she says. “I do not believe in counting every calorie consumed. If I choose to, I will eat three desserts but balance it with only protein in the mains and a streamlined intake of carbs. Also, at the end of a tasting, you need to feel satisfied. There are Instagram reels that sermonise on drinking water before eating to subdue those hunger pangs. But no amount of water can satisfy hunger pangs if you have eaten inadequately.”
Setting the rules
While tasting menus do cap portions to an extent and bring only signature specials to the table, the number of courses often run deep. “I always put in a request for a compact number of courses,” says chef-influencer Rakhee Vaswani, founder, Palate Culinary Academy, a culinary and pastry arts education institute in Mumbai.
“Working through 8-12 courses is a stretch. Even Michelin-starred restaurants abroad have only four-six courses that bring out the best in the techniques, flavours and elements,” says Vaswani. She eats at home at 8pm before she sets out for tastings and new menu experiences—four times a week. “I am a teetotaller and nurse a single mocktail through an event. I believe you do not need to gulp and gobble everything on the menu. Eat with your eyes first—the presentation does satiate you a bit.”
The fitness routine
Noronha does weight training six days a week along with clocking 10,000 steps daily. “I am an early riser, eat three meals a day, dislike heavy dinners, and prefer afternoon tastings. What works for me is high-intensity workouts and brisk walking,” she says.
Vaswani sticks with a simple vegetarian diet at home complete with doodhi raita, turai khichri, palak and methi, as her work schedule leaves her with no time to exercise. Singh is all for tiny tasters, ensuring she specifically asks for small portions to try out new menus.
For Mumbai-based Naimita Jagasia, founder, An Ode to Gaia, a luxury plant-based patisserie, the last two years have brought an increased number of outings as a chef-influencer. “I line my tummy with fibre through a salad intake. A balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar dressing is a must to prevent spiking of sugar levels once I eat,” says Jagasia, who has PCOS and needs to keep her weight in check. On the exercise front, a mix of weightlifting, swimming and pilates ensures her cardio fix during the week, she shares.
Jagasia believes in romanticising the entire process of self-care. “I tell myself that I am planning my portions and calorie intake, to be able to look the way I want to and wear the clothes I want.” She says the key lies in propping up the essentials at home. “I have water with methi and jeera seeds soaked overnight daily, and soaked raisins for better scalp and skin health. I love food, and I tell myself to eat regulated portions because I can always come back to eat it again, right?”
Karishmma Chawla, nutritionist and lifestyle educator, offers some tips on how to eat mindfully. “You can structure your intake even when you are eating out. Start with a bowl of sautéed vegetables or a bowl of salad with olive oil and spices or a big soulful bowl of soup (without cornstarch). Pick protein next—go for eggs, chicken, fish—it gives you a feeling of satiety. You can treat yourself with a tiny portion of carbs.”
The next time you are envying the work of a food critic, take heart. There is a lot of mindful effort that goes into the making of that persona in the reels and photographs.
Shilpi Madan is a Mumbai-based writer. She posts @ShilpiMadan.