To Save His Life, Our Food Critic Reset His Appetite

For 12 years, Pete Wells had his dream job: working as the chief restaurant critic for The New York Times. The job’s journalistic mission required Wells to eat out most nights and taste nearly everything on any given restaurant’s menu. He didn’t realize it at the time, but the excessive eating had taken a toll on his body.

Then came a health crisis, followed by his doctor’s advice to “stop doing what you’re doing right now.”

In 2024, Wells gave up his post as restaurant critic and set out to remake his entire relationship with food.

On today’s episode, Michael Barbaro speaks with Wells about the realities of life as a restaurant critic, and what he’s learning about the joys of home cooking, mindful eating and grocery shopping for the diet he intends to follow.

On Today’s Episode:

Pete Wells is a reporter covering food for The New York Times. He was formerly The Times’s restaurant critic.

Background Reading:

After 12 Years of Reviewing Restaurants, I’m Leaving the Table

Our Former Restaurant Critic Changed His Eating Habits. You Can, Too.

To Eat Healthier, Our Critic Went to the Source: His Kitchen

To Tune Out Food Noise, Our Critic Listened to His Hunger

To Improve How He Ate, Our Critic Looked at What He Drank

Photo Credit: Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Spencer Richards.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.