Seamus Mullen shares how chefs can live happier, healthier lives

“It’s very easy to find something that’s both delicious and that you’re going to feal really good eating,” said Seamus Mullen, who is currently the culinary director of the Rosewood Sand Hill resort in Menlo Park, Calif. Responsible for overseeing that property’s culinary outlets, developing recipes, training and so on, Mullen also has a broader mission to help people live better lives by embracing the joy of eating well. The chef first rose to prominence in 2006 as chef of Boqueria, a Spanish tapas-focused restaurant in New York City. He went on to open his own restaurants, Tertulia in 2011, followed by El Colmado in 2013, both also in New York, while also working the celebrity chef circuit, appearing on the Food Network’s “Next Iron Chef,” “Chopped” and “Beat Bobby Flay” as well as the morning new shows etc. Simultaneously, he was battling rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease he was diagnosed with in 2007, and which he has fought using the weapons of diet, exercise and lifestyle changes. For years Mullen has, in his own words, been beating the drum of eating delicious food that makes you feel good, trying to free people from their “antagonistic relationship” with what they eat. That doesn’t just mean limiting eating things that we all know are bad for us, but taking the time to sit down and really enjoy our meals, and also devoting time to taking care of ourselves. Mullen recently shared advice for how chefs and other people working in foodservice, can adjust some of their habits and live better lives.