Daily Digestive: Marc Murphy

Marc Murphy has made a name for himself on the culinary stage with his acclaimed restaurants (including Landmarc and Ditch Plains), as well as his ongoing role as judge on the Food Network show Chopped. In October 2013, the executive chef and restaurateur continued to see his empire grow with the opening of his first new restaurant in 5 years—Kingside at the Viceroy New York "With this project, I wanted to create something totally different from what I've been doing at Landmarc and Ditch Plains," says chef Murphy. "I curated a new American menu with simple dishes and big flavors. I'm also excited about partnering with Gerber Group and having their incredible beverage program to compliment the menu. And of course, I always want to create an atmosphere where guests can feel comfortable and experience great food, as well as amazing cocktails and wine in a beautiful setting."

With so many different and varied parts to his career, chef Murphy is clearly wearing many 'Toques'. So, what are his favorite aspects of the job? "All of the above! I love every aspect of what I do, from working with an amazing group of people, to creating dishes and running all my restaurants. I'm lucky I'm involved in a variety of activities and organizations so each day is different which keeps it very exciting," says chef Murphy.  "But if there was anything I could avoid, it would be baking as you really have to be much more precise with measurements."

Working with different chefs and on Chopped and with a stellar team at his restaurants, chef Murphy has many role models and culinary inspirations to pick from, but does admit to being a huge fan of chef Alain Ducasse in particular. "I actually staged for him early in my career at Louis XV in Monte Carlo and to this day I love his food and his style of cooking," chef Murphy discloses.

Despite chef Murphy's television, restaurant and most important of all family commitments (he is a father of two), he still somehow finds plenty of time for exercise during his week. "I usually exercise about four times a week. I do an hour of cardio and then some lighter weight lifting and stretching. I also walk everywhere I can throughout the city and always take the stairs," he says. In fact, he was due to participate in the 2013 marathon but had to pull out at the last minute due to injury.

And, just in case all the above wasn't enough to keep him busy, chef Murphy will be participating in Hale & Hearty's 'Chef Series' – where top NYC Chefs create a limited-edition soup—with 10% of proceeds going to a charity of their choice.  Chef Murphy's soup is Beef Barley with Mushrooms and Kale, with sales going to City Harvest. This soup will be available in all Hale and Hearty locations from January 27 to February 7.

It sounds to us like Marc is doing an excellent job on all fronts but are there certain foods that need to be "chopped" from his daily food intake? Taking over the role of judge, is nutritionist Elyse Sosin, RD, who analysed chef Murphy's diary and gave her verdict.
 

Marc's Food Log

6:00am – My kids come in every morning and wake me up. Once I get up, I have to have a hot tea and it has to be Lipton! I drink it plain and it's my go to. People are usually surprised that I actually don't like coffee since I grew up in Italy and France. Most of the time, I eat something small to get my day started. Today, I had two slices of whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and another cup of tea.

8:00am – I drop my daughter off at school first and then my son. I stop in the cafeteria and we enjoy a bowl of oatmeal together. It's our tradition and honestly one of my favorite parts of the day. I also have another cup of tea and a tall glass of water.

11:00am – I'm usually on the go between my office, meetings and my restaurants Landmarc and Ditch Plains. Today I'm at my newest restaurant, Kingside.  It's exciting because it's my first new concept in five years so I'm down in the kitchen making sure dishes are plated and executed the way I envisioned them. It's funny because you'd think I'd be eating a lot in the kitchen, but I actually don't. I always taste small parts of dishes to test the flavors but I'm not really ever eating a meal. This is where I usually eat a banana to hold me over until I can sit down for lunch.

2:00pm – The lunch rush for friends and family is over, so I take a few minutes to actually sit down, look over emails and check in with the people who keep me on track. I usually like to eat a salad and today I had a good serving of my grilled kale salad with goat cheese, olives, toasted almonds and lemon vinaigrette from Kingside. I also tried a few pieces of charcuterie when my guys were slicing it up. I drank two glasses of water with my meal.

4:00pm – Another cup of Lipton Tea.

4:15pm - Quality control testing on the new potato and buckwheat focaccia at Kingside. We're making batches and testing them to get that perfect combination of saltiness and crunch. I have a few bites of each.

5:00pm – Back in the kitchen for dinner service. Small tastes here and there to test sauces and dishes.

9:00pm – Second time I'm sitting for the day.  I share a tuna crudo with uni vinaigrette and chives and make myself a grilled skirt steak with chimichurri and watercress once again from the menu at Kingside. I also indulged in a delicious bottle of red wine with my wine and beverage director, David Lombardo.

10:30pm - Enjoy an espresso.

11:30PM - Drink a large glass of water and then it's off to bed!

Elyse's recommendations: I haven't had the opportunity to meet Chef Murphy — although I enjoy watching him on Chopped but from reading his diary alone, Marc seems very happy and content with his career and it appears as if he has managed to pull-off a great work/personal balance. He is eating with his family everyday, dining on foods he fancies, exercising regularly and is clearly excited about developing new concepts and menus for his latest restaurant Kingside at the Viceroy New York.

My thoughts:

• Marc is eating plenty of protein from different sources including steak, goat cheese, tuna, and a small amount of nuts and peanut butter. Different sources of protein can provide a variety of nutrients such as iron in beef and calcium in cheese.   The variety will improve nutrient intake and health benefits.
• His diet contains all types of fats with the good fat in his diet (monounsaturated) coming from nuts, peanut butter, and olive oil.
• Calcium intake is modest.  Marc may benefit from adding additional foods high in calcium content to his diet e.g., low fat cheese/yogurt/milk or sardines with bones so that he is eating at least 3 portions daily as this will help maintain bone health.
• Marc did not eat any fruit (on this day) with the exception of a banana.   Increased fruit would provide additional fiber, vitamins and minerals, fluid and carbohydrates.  
• His overall carbohydrate intake is fairly modest coming from whole wheat bread, vegetables, potato, and oatmeal. I would recommend Marc add some carbohydrate-rich snacks before and after his exercise workouts. For example, sweet potatoes, fruit, cereal and milk, or a yogurt. Additional carbohydrates would provide the body with fuel that is necessary for physical activity.
• Lipton tea seems to be a favorite beverage. Additional water is suggested, especially, when Marc is exercising.
• Red wine in reasonable amounts makes Marc's dining experience complete and benefits include antioxidants that may provide heart healthy benefits.

Disclaimer: Elyse Sosin, Nutritionist, is not engaged in rendering medical advice that should be obtained from a qualified health professional. Acting on any information provided without consulting a healthcare provider is at the reader's own risk.