-->This Is Why You’re Fat: Cheesecake Factory Edition
One of my favorite twitter people, Linda Marshall, sent me these shots from a Yahoo post and I was horrified. I’ve done a lot of reading about the food industry this past year and one of the things I learned is that the Cheesecake Factory (among others) employs chemists and nutritionists to come up with ways to make food taste better.
David Kessler’s brilliant book, “The End of Overeating,” talks about the layering of flavors; fat, salt and sugar. Basically the more layers you can get of the three the better. The Cheesecake Factory has been better than most at implementing this idea which has resulted in the following …
I can’t even fathom 2,800+ calories in one meal. I wonder how many people a day polish this off without even thinking about it. You’re average 175 pound male needs about 2,300 calories per day to maintain his weight, this is blasting past this by 1/4 of a pound and we’re not even talking about drinks or bread sticks!
What is even worse, and frankly reprehensible, is the children’s dish …
Seriously? More calories than 40 Chicken McNuggets! My head is reeling. Why do they think this ok? I’m sure the vast majority of people eating these dishes wouldn’t come close to being accurate about the calories they’re ingesting.
So thanks Linda for letting me know and please spread the word about these awful dishes. This is a perfect example of food industry greed over the welfare of the community they serve.
Popularity: 15% [?]
I’ve never eaten there but DAAAAAAAAAAANGED!!! what more can I say??!
Lisa,
check this out: http://su.pr/2AGqlR
It’s the nutrition info for a restaurant chain called Claim Jumper (mainly in the western US). They put Cheesecake Factory to shame. Top dish has 4301 calories, and that doesn’t include the sides. They even have a Citrus Chicken Salad with 2500 calories.
~Dave
David Kessler’s book is brilliant and eye opening. I agree – how does “big food” think this is OK!?!? What’s scariest is most of the big food companies KNOW the science behind fat/salt/sugar layering… and they USE it. It makes us addicted to food, and it chemically turns off the signal in our brain that we’re full… they know this and they use it. Disgusting. Can ya tell I’m on fire about this topic?!? LOL!!
Suffering from depression and my drug of choice being food… this information is heart-breaking. However, armed with this knowledge has completely changed the way I eat out, and the way I eat period.
Dave, thanks for the link! That’s appalling and I’ve had the Citrus Chicken Salad! Ack! (dressing on the side & no cheese but still …) L–
He does an excellent job of laying out the science of how you get addicted to these types of foods. It really was appalling. I had this vision of guys with lab coats watching innocent “testers” trying out buffalo wings and getting more and more excited as the tasters shoved more food in their mouth (due evil laughter).
I kept wondering how the people who did this for a living lived with themselves? They knew they were contributing to shortening people’s lifespans and were being paid handsomely for it and they seem to be ok with that.
Lisa – I have to chuckle… as I was reading David’s book, I had the visual of memos being shot around a giant office building divulging the addictive nature of those food combos – very much a-la the tobacco industry…
Great information, Lisa. Thank you!
I’ve been eating at home more and more over the past year precisely for this reason (and the fact that I can make a better meal at a fraction of the cost), but when I do eat out, it’s to independent, local restaurants – the kind of restaurants that don’t have chemists or nutritionists!
I think a lot of the problems with food can be solved by getting closer to the people growing, processing and making the food we eat. If you can’t meet the chef that designed the dish you’re eating, how can you *really* trust that it’s good?
Both dishes are alfredo based, what is an average sat fat/sodium content of their competitors dishes of similar size?
I know my home made alfredo is probably right up there with all the cream and pounds of cheese it takes. Which are at their root, high in sodium and saturated fat.
I’m not defending here, merely stating that alfredo is most certainly ALWAYS high in fat and sodium….
Gross. Just gross. This is why we need more education and information. I know why people like going to places like Cheesecake Factory and Claim Jumper – the allure is large portions that can make it through dinner with lunch leftover. But I suppose not many people actually end up doing that. Maybe they should bring two to-go containers at the same time the meal comes out! But what’s really bad is the kids’ menu. You as parents are responsible for what goes in their bodies and to allow them to eat that kind of thing is inexcusable.
Gradon: I agree the more you eat at home, the healthier you’ll be. Also including your kids in the shopping and cooking experience is a great way to teach them about nutrition and well-prepared meals. I bought a fresh, live organic basil plant at Whole Foods yesterday with my son and he held onto it in the backseat on the way home saying, “I love fresh basil, the pizza is going to taste really awesome!” We had homemade, whole wheat crust / veggie pizza for dinner last night. Waaaay healthier than Domino’s.
Dan: Alfredo sauce is an easy target to pick because it is so rich in fat. But that’s still no excuse … I’m sure you portions and preparation methods are significantly less than theirs.
Beth: The problem for parents is I’m sure they had no idea that’s an 1,800 calorie dish! There’s no way I would have guessed it was that high. I’m sure if you showed it to a panel of nutritionists they wouldn’t be that close either. That’s where the food science for “Big Food” comes in. Something that the Cheesecake Factory does employ … How can we cram more calories and flavor into this dish so people come back for more … an argument for legislation don’t you think?
L–
“How can we cram more calories and flavor into this dish so people come back for more …”
Actually they don’t care about calories (nor do their customers – it’s *Cheesecake* Factory, not “Light Salad with the Dressing on the Side” Factory), they care about flavor. Complaining that they want tasty food is like complaining that Verizon wants a more reliable network – tasty food is their JOB.
Chemistry and cooking are intertwined – especially in the restaurant industry. At home (if you’re actually a decent cook and don’t blindly follow the recipe book) every time you make a dish it’s influenced by what you’ve got on hand, how you’re feeling, and what you’re in the mood for that night. This is where cooking is more art than science. At a restaurant every time you prepare a meal it had better taste exactly like the last 400 times you made it or people complain. Being able to have humans cook to this level of accuracy is all about chemisty – adding the right quantities of the right ingredients at the right times. If the idea of chemists scares you, research DHMO – it’s a toxic substance humans are addicted to that The Cheesecake Factory puts in their foods.
If you must have legislation please make it something useful like labeling. I have to laugh when they target chain fast food stores for serving awful food when most sit-down restaurants have much higher calorie counts. But you won’t fix the fundamental problem – Mom’s cooking is often even worse because people don’t add up the fat in the cheese and sour cream and butter and everything else.
The best advice is to ignore your mother’s advice – *don’t* finish everything that’s on your plate if you’re not hungry because even if you did it wouldn’t do a lick of good for those starving children in China. Remember, if you outlaw tasty food then only outlaws will have tasty food; a little self control and responsibility goes a long way!
Jeff I understand your points and standardizing food production is crucial for large chains such as the Cheesecake Factory.
I’m willing to bet though that if the Cheesecake Factory had to publish the calorie count right next to the menu items the ordering would change drastically and permanently. To not have that information you are guessing based on what you cook and most people don’t cook the way CF does with it’s arsenal of chemists, nutritionists and salt/fat/sugar layering system.
To have fast food be the poster child is ludicrous and they shouldn’t be soley singled out if any legislation does take place.
I disagree with you though a bit on family meals. Yes, there are people who cook solely in lard and deep fat fryers but I think most people, over time do a better job cooking healthy than the local restaurants do. I don’t know anyone with a deep fat fryer for instance, but then I don’t live in the South …
Thanks very much for your comments. I enjoy a good debate :-) What do others think?
Be well, L–
Not living in the US the first time I heard of Cheesecake Factory was in a story about how a lot of NBA players like eating there on the road, because (despite their big salaries) its a much cheaper way of getting in a lot of calories than ordering room service.
Now I understand what they mean.
I think you overestimate how healthy people are when it comes to their own cooking. People who care what they eat are healthy, but they also don’t need to be told that restaurants cook food that tastes good over food that is healthy. My mother cooked with a lot of butter, a lot of salt, and a lot of other stuff that her army of one decided made things taste better. I also cook to what I think tastes better but I have no illusions that it’s “health” food. Yet my BMI is such that I’m more interested in gaining weight than losing it because I understand about portion sizes and exercise.
I don’t understand your fear of someone labeled a “chemist” – if you called them executive chefs would it be better? The chemistry of cooking is a wonderful thing if you’d care to embrace it – check out http://www.cookingforengineers.com/ and see if you can start to see that there’s science in everything you make as well.
I understand your point but I think the food industry takes it too far. It’s not a high end chef using gastronomic techniques to create a fabulous Michelin rated meal. It’s a company trying to manipulate the average American’s palate to entice them to return repeatedly to their restaurant. Yes, of course, that’s the goal, getting customers to return. But the techniques that they use to do it are manipulative and secretive. That’s my problem … L–
Gross. Just gross. This is why we need more education and information. I know why people like going to places like Cheesecake Factory and Claim Jumper – the allure is large portions that can make it through dinner with lunch leftover. But I suppose not many people actually end up doing that. Maybe they should bring two to-go containers at the same time the meal comes out! But what’s really bad is the kids’ menu. You as parents are responsible for what goes in their bodies and to allow them to eat that kind of thing is inexcusable.
Karen I agree, it’s totally gross, thanks for the comment ~ LJ
honestly this just made me gag. I’m mortified. I have never been to Cheesecake Factory and with these #’s I won’t go. If I had gone there is not doubt in my mind that these would have been one of the meals I would have chosen to eat. More calories than in 40 chicken nuggets = 0. I gained weight reading this. All of this info should be on the menus. Lisa, funny thing reading this, seeing the numbers actually gives me more incentive to cook at home verse eating out! Plus I’ll save more money *wink*
LOL, thanks Tracey! I’m sure you didn’t gain weight reading this post, but I appreciate the sentiment! L–
My mother learned during her nutrition coursework that the secret to McD’s fabulous fry flavor is…wait for it…Sugar.
The food is as much a marketing tool as the decor or the menu or the advertising. It’s not that people are demanding horrible food, but that most people don’t THINK about food very often. When they do think about going out for a “special” meal their taste buds have been so destroyed by the sugar and salt in processed foods for “busy lifestyles” that dishes of this magnitude are required to be a “special” experience.
Jenny you’re right, it’s been a subtle shift over the years as the food industry has figure out how to manipulate our taste buds with ever greater success. It’s awareness that stops this stuff from happening. Thanks for your comments ~ LJ
I currently work at cheesecake factory and honestly think the nutritional content of the food is disgusting. Seriously is it necessary for people to consume all that food in one sitting plus bread loads and don’t forget sodas and THEN order DESSERT…which is 1000+ calories a slice. Gross. Buttttttt you can’t really blame these blind idiots when the food tastes like heaven. I’m a tall slender girl but everytime I eat here on break or to taste test cheesecakes I feel like I just gained 5 pounds. Truly is addicting…….
Torri, thanks for your input :-)