Why a chef lifts

I love knives. You probably know that by now. But after years in professional kitchens, I’m convinced the most important tool in any kitchen isn’t the knife. It’s the body holding it.

Kitchens are physical

I started in professional kitchens as a teenager and spent years cooking in Asia. If you’ve never worked a busy service from the inside, here’s the short version: you’re on your feet from the moment prep starts until the last plate goes out. You lift stockpots, crates of vegetables and sacks of rice. You bend, twist, reach and carry, usually fast and often in serious heat. And through all of it, your hands have to stay steady enough for precise knife work.

The workshop is no different. Long days at the bench, putting the finishing touches to knives, ask a lot of your back, shoulders and hands too.

Why I lift

That’s why strength training is part of my life. I go to the gym because I want a body that can take long days, and because I want to keep doing the work I love for many years to come.

I won’t pretend that lifting weights will improve your brunoise. But I know which version of myself I’d rather send into a long day: the strong, steady one, not the stiff and worn-out one.

My kitchen rules, gym edition

Funnily enough, the gym runs on the same rules I learned in the kitchen.

• Technique before speed. A clean cut beats a fast one, and good form beats a heavy weight. Speed and load can come later.
• Mise en place. Know what you’re going to do before you start, whether it’s prep for a service or a session in the gym.
• Steady beats heroic. A knife that gets a little care, often, stays sharp. A body isn’t so different.
• Rest is part of the job. Every kitchen needs a breather between lunch and dinner service, and every body needs time to recover.

Food is part of the training

I’m a chef, so of course I think the fridge matters as much as the gym. You won’t find meal plans or numbers here. What I care about is simple: proper food, cooked well, and enough of it to fuel the work. I write more about food, the brain and keeping a calm head in A calm head and a sharp knife.

Before you pick up a barbell

I’m a chef, not a doctor or a personal trainer, so this is what I do, not advice. If you’re new to strength training, get a qualified coach to show you the basics, and talk to your doctor first if you have any health issues or injuries.

Strong body, steady hands, sharp knife: that’s the kitchen I want to cook in. Next up, somewhere colder: cold water and sauna, the Nordic way.