Culture

Seamus Mullen Makes the Case for Food as Medicine

Scenes from our #saveursupper with the chef and author of Real Food Heals

By Chris Cohen


Published on October 13, 2017

Photographer Melanie Dunea and chef Seamus Mullen get snapped up for Instagram.

Chef Seamus Mullen's new books is called Real Food Heals. That phrase is more than just a title: it's a life mantra for the chef, who radically reformed the way he ate after a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. Eating more thoughtfully, combined with exercise (he's a passionate cyclist) led the chef to lose 65 pounds and beat back his disease.

He shared some of the principles of his new approach to eating during a visit with his team from Tertulia, his Spanish restaurant in New York’s West Village, to the SAVEUR test kitchen on Wednesday night.

Some of the accommodations to better health were obvious—guacamole came with (delicious) crudités instead of chips. Other dishes didn’t seem to be health food at all, like a grilled eggplant with herb labneh. That’s ambiguity is integral to the way Mullen thinks about food now: there’s no contradiction to him between food that tastes great and is good for you.

The perfect example came in the first course, an heirloom tomato and watermelon salad with burrata. Many eaters struggle with inflammation caused by tomatoes, Mullen said, but they are at their least inflammatory when they’re at their most ripe and delicious. Eating seasonally and seeking ripe tomatoes meant better things for both the flavor of the dish and how it makes you feel.

In some cases, Mullen says, he exercises moderation with his moderation. An ultra-buttery dish of seared swordfish wouldn’t make a good every-Tuesday meal because of its elevated mercury content. For a special event, though, it’s important to let yourself live.

Nowhere was that more evident than with the wines, natural bottlings provided by David Bowler wine that ranged from a ripe-but-dry German Riesling to a serious, structured barbera from Coli Tortonesi in the Piedmont. In moderation, "wine is a great thing,” said chef Mullen, “when you want to be healthy and happy."

The supper kicked off with a guacamole and souped-up crudité platter.
Chef Seamus Mullen was visiting to celebrate the launch of his new book, Real Food Heals
David Bowler Wine brought the vino, including this sparkler from Patrick Piuze.
Chef Seamus Mullen was cooking with one arm after a bike crash in Italy, but it didn't seem to slow him down in the kitchen.
Fluke crudo
Cathy Lo of Good Housekeeping, Genevive Ko, Mullen's co-author of Real Food Heals, and Alex Pearson.
Grilled broccoli
Ryan Healey of Sweetgreen and SAVEUR senior editor Chris Cohen
Becky Wright, Bella Mancini, and Jeff Mancini
Burrata with heirloom tomatoes and watermelon
Chef Seamus Mullen, Lauren Scala of WNBC 4 New York, and publicist Evyn Block.
Chef Seamus Mullen, CJ Frogozo, Taryn Toomey, Raj Barker, and Becky Wright.
Bailey Bennett of Travel + Leisure, food writer Jake Cohen, and Kristen Miglore of Food52
Scallop ceviche with lime, chile, mint, and basil
Evan Spingarn of David Bowler Wines
Coconut-roasted cauliflower
Leonard Lopate and artist Melanie Baker with chef Seamus Mullen
Seared swordfish with heirloom tomatoes, avocado, celery, and capers
Plating the desert of sliced peaches
The Tertulia kitchen crew came out to help with the supper
R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, Seamus Mullen, and SAVEUR editor-in-chief Adam Sachs

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