Miguel Maestre is a Spanish-born Australian chef who is best known for presenting TV programs such as Miguel’s Feast, Miguel’s Tropical Kitchen and Boys Weekend. He revealed that eating the Mediterranean diet has been his secret to staying well.
The chef said, “We live in an age of food fads and health trends but I’m quite old-school when it comes to my diet. I was born in Spain, which recently outranked Japan in terms of life expectancy, and the main reason for that is because we follow the Mediterranean diet.”
Maestre added, “When I eat fish one day and then have legumes, grains, pork or vegies the next, I nurture my body in different ways. I love cooking so I’m all for quality home-cooked meals such as paella and chickpea stews. I’m a big eater, but this year I’ve learned that smaller portion sizes work best for me in terms of health and weight loss, so I’m trying to be more reasonable with my servings.”
He said doing what he loves keeps him energized. He said, “I have a crazy life. I work on The Living Room, I do 25 live cooking shows a year and I have a family. Trying to balance all of that is important, and I manage by doing the things I love and putting my family first.”
He explained that when he prioritizes what is important to him, he becomes happier and has more energy because it brings the best version of himself.
Maestre also explained that he gets big gains from his small workouts. “I began the year weighing 117 kg and today I’m 103.9 kg, so I’ve lost two Christmas hams! I’ve spent many years working long hours in the kitchen so I’ve built up a lot of endurance, but to look after my body I try to do something active every day,” said the famous chef. “It might be going for a swim, doing 100 push-ups or punching a boxing bag for 20 minutes — anything that gets me moving.”
He went on Dancing With The Stars to raise awareness and money for suicide prevention charity “R U OK?” Maestre said, “To battle that anxiety, I just tried my best. I’ve lost friends to suicide and I think it’s crazy how we talk about what we’re eating and how we’re moving but we forget to look after our mind. Some people think I’m always happy, but I have my moments.”
He recalled that when his friend Barry Du Bois and Living Room co-host was diagnosed with cancer for the second time in 2017, it was a real wake-up call for him.
Maestre said, “He [Barry] was very sick and wanted to share his journey, so we wrote a book called Life Force and to me, it proved that love is one of the best medicines. I’d sit with him through blood transfusions and treatments and I’d cook him meals; everyone would laugh and talk.” The Australian chef added, “Despite the cancer, we tried to be positive and, although Barry was sick, love and friendship took away some of his pain and it made me a better person. When the people around me aren’t well it makes me want to be healthier and to not take one second for granted — so I don’t.”
