What Do Rich People Eat?

This is the most frequently asked question since I've been writing the blog - and it comes from countries all over the globe. For those of us who have to stretch our budgets, of course there's curiosity about the eating habits and nutrition of those with unlimited means. But the answer might be surprising.

In a recent article in the New York Daily News it seems that people with lots of money go to fast food restaurants more frequently than lower-income families. Somewhat the opposite of what we'd expect, right? But it's not all that shocking since a Big Mac costs five bucks nowadays. For a large family it's far less expensive to cook at home than to run out to McDonald's, dollar menu or not.

While rich people can afford the finest cuts of meat at the local butcher shop and the freshest langostino shrimp imported to their cities by overnight air, they don't necessarily do so, at least not all the time. And they can snack on expensive imported cheeses and hors d'oeuvres brought in by a caterer, or the finest chocolates from Belgium and Switzerland. But again, not always. It's not unusual for us to find an empty pizza box when we get to work in the mornings.

Every night of the week they can afford to go to restaurants like Masa in New York for a minimum of $450 per person, or a more modestly-priced place like Ruth's Chris for a two-hundred dollar steak dinner (although I should mention that Ruth's also offers a fifty-dollar steak on their equivalent of McDonald's Dollar Menu).

They might have a light lunch at the Palm Court in New York, then fly off in their private jets to a late dinner at Maxim's in Paris, or the Brasserie in Monte Carlo overlooking the Princess Grace rose gardens.
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In spite of all this temptation the modern-day rich are health conscious, of course. Many follow the Mediterranean diet both in their homes and when they go to restaurants. That's basically what's going on here where I work. It's more of a lifestyle than a diet anyway, consisting of lots of fish, fresh veggies, pasta, nuts and berries, and olive oil.

But we're not surprised when we find the kitchen cluttered with take-out Chinese cartons when we get to work, or an empty package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in the trash can. The truth is rich people eat anything they want, whenever they want, wherever they want.

As for their secret to staying slim, my observation is that they take only small portions of whatever's being served, and hit the gym on a regular basis. In centuries past being rich meant getting fat and suffering from gout - known as the rich man's disease. But those days are long gone.

Hope this was informative, and thanks for stopping by this evening,

Andrew