Do chefs eat what they cook?  Not for long.  Television chef and cookbook author, Paula Deen,  changed her eating habits when she discovered she has type-2 diabetes, but she kept offering recipes for comfort food to unknowing fans.  Rachel Ray has been dieting, and Hawaiian chef Sam Choy, famous for his girth, has recently lost more than 140 pounds.

In his essay for the Sunday New York Times – Of Mouselike Bites and Marathons  – food and restaurant critic Frank Bruni exposes the secret behind “the people who invite us to wallow in food…”

“Here’s what we don’t see:  the yogurt and berries they had for breakfast; the salads and grilled vegetables they eat on nights off…the enormous exercise involved…”

  Bruni cites Allison Adams’ new book Smart Chefs Stay Slim: Adams interviews some well known chefs and reports that most svelte television chefs exercise fanatically – some have personal trainers – and all are careful about what they eat –  debunking the myth that chefs eat what you see them making.

Deen donut burger

In a nod to the queen of the donut burger (a hamburger between glazed donuts instead of a bun), Bruni concedes that Deen’s oven-fried potato wedges with mayo have fewer calories than French Laundry chef Thomas Keller’s “tasting of potatoes with black truffles” with cream and butter.

I’d forego the calorie savings and choose the Keller dish any day.

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Recipe for Keller’s potatoes with truffles