Before chef Franklin Becker was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 1997, mealtime meant drinking copious amounts of soda, eating high-fat, high-carb foods and indulging in a lot of desserts. And when it came to serving customers, Becker was equally over-the-top.
“I used to cook my steak and literally let it rest in butter when I was at Abe & Arthur’s,” says Becker, who also has helmed the kitchens at Capitale and Catch. “It made the steak taste ridiculously delicious, but at what price? Clogging arteries.”
Today, the former “Top Chef Masters” contestant runs the kitchens at the health-conscious Little Beet chain, which plans to open a new location in Midtown East (320 Park Ave.) at the end of October.
So when it comes to eating healthy, the veteran chef has a lot of opinions from years spent in every kind of kitchen imaginable. Here, he offers his tips:
Talk to the chef: The biggest hurdle for diners watching their diet is a lack of transparency when it comes to a dish’s ingredients. “There’s nothing wrong with requesting the chef to come out and talk to you,” says Becker.
Watch the salad: Think your salad is healthy? Caesar salads are “loaded with saturated fat and sodium,” plus croutons. And skip the vinaigrette. “It’s often loaded with sugar.” Instead, order lemon or red-wine vinegar with olive oil.
Do eggs right: Avoid eggs cooked on flat-top griddles. “They’re cooked with everything from bacon to meat and chicken, and all those juices are just loaded with fat,” he says. Order poached or hard-boiled eggs instead.
Rethink fish: Fish might seem like a great alternative to steak, but not always. “Almost all restaurants finish fish dishes with butter,” he says, “so you have to request, ‘No butter.’”
Avoid the dessert trap: “People think because meringue is made from egg whites, it’s healthy,” he says. “But in reality, there’s so much sugar, it’s not. Sugar, especially refined sugar, is like the devil.”
