Chef Gregory Gourdet Believes GLP-1 Will Change the Future of Food Dramatically

A new relationship with food

Gourdet describes years of planning travel around restaurants and eating, sometimes fitting several meals into one day. He says he once viewed that pursuit as part of his work and a source of joy.

Raised to finish his plate and avoid waste, he carried those lessons into his career. He says his concern about waste also reflects the labor, resources and environmental costs involved in producing food.

After taking tirzepatide for two years, Gourdet says his eating habits changed. Late-night meals after restaurant service and sweets eaten when tired or stressed have largely fallen away, he says.

More flavor per bite

Gourdet says that when he is hungry, he wants food that is both nourishing and deeply flavorful. He points to grilled salmon with citrus and spices, served with greens, as a meal that can satisfy him physically and gastronomically.

He prefers a juicy, skin-on chicken thigh to an oversized skinless breast, arguing that richness and flavor make a dish more satisfying. For him, the goal is not less pleasure, but less eating that fails to provide it. He says he has not lost his appetite; rather, he has lost what he calls the noise around it.

A shift in food culture

Before GLP-1 medications became more prominent, Gourdet says, restaurants such as Sweetgreen and the fast-casual wellness movement already reflected interest in fresh, customizable and satisfying food that was not necessarily enormous. He says GLP-1s have accelerated that direction, alongside wider interest in high-protein, plant-forward and whole-food eating. He sees an opportunity to focus on flavor and nourishment rather than simply serving larger portions.

Pleasure still matters

Gourdet warns against taking the GLP-1 shift to mean that eating less is always better. Food, he says, remains pleasure, culture and celebration, and some meals are worth fully enjoying.

As a chef, he argues that the aim should be helping people care more about what they eat, not necessarily encouraging them to eat more. Gourdet is the author of Everyone’s Table and chef and owner of Kann, a wood-fired Haitian restaurant in Portland, Oregon.