Health is top of the menu these days. Do you feel responsible for the health impacts of the food you serve? Comment below.

We have come a long way from the post-war era of spam and dried eggs. The boom in ready-meals… fast-food… produce pumped full of chemicals… and now, a push for all things organic and fresh – food consumption and production has changed with the times. And we need to understand our customers demands – as well as the call of our own conscience.

As health awareness has risen steadily over the years, the latest phase is about all things green and nourishing.

Now you would assume that most chefs endorse this movement as many of the more complex, sophisticated recipes involve fresh ingredients and delicate balances.

If cooking is like art, serving up chicken and chips is not going to be a chefs Mona Lisa.

However many chefs will have to go where the money is, and may end up making dishes that aren’t particularly healthy.

What we at chef.couk want to know is a) do you like what you serve and b) do you feel responsible for the health of your clients?

Regardless of ingredients or menu, portion size is the first port of call when it comes to health.

Boston Magazine ran a feature on this very subject. They asked three chefs (Tim Cushman, Marcos Sanchez and Jeremy Sewall) this question: do you feel there’s any obligation on the part of restaurants at all, in terms of health?

In general the answer was no.

Tim Cushman: “If somebody wants to eat what they want to eat, that’s their decision. That’s an individual choice. I do pay attention to nutrition; I’m fascinated by it. I also think when somebody eats, it’s not an endgame once they get it in their mouth – it’s going to go all through your system, and I don’t want people to get indigestion because that’s still a continuance of the experience of the restaurant.”

Marcos Sanchez: “If we were feeding them on a consistent basis, then maybe yes. I just like cooking great food and I love to see people enjoy it. That makes me happy.”

Jeremy Sewall: “No, absolutely not. There is no obligation. If your goal is to be a health-food restaurant then that’s your obligation, but that’s not my responsibility. My responsibility is to offer a well-rounded dining experience – interesting, creative food that I feel is an expression of the restaurant itself, but counting calories is not my job.”

It seems opinions are mixed and whether or not the health of your customers is a priority depends to a large degree on what kind of establishment you a running, how you personally think about your role as a chef, and what pressures are being placed on you from management.

In my opinion, if our main responsibility as chefs is to provide good meals, and inspire people with these meals, then health should always be a top consideration.

But that’s just me.

What do you think your role is in terms of healthy eating?

A survey found that while 76% of chefs thought that they served “regular portions”, the actual portion sizes were 2 to 4 times larger than serving sizes recommended by the U.S Government.

Interestingly, the chefs admitted that large portions are bad for health but opinions were mixed regarding whether it is the customer’s responsibility to eat an appropriate amount when served a large portion of food.