The number of measles cases reported in the US in the past two years has surpassed the total number of cases reported in the entire quarter century preceding them. A catastrophically mismanaged cyclospora outbreak is sending thousands to the hospital with explosive diarrhea. But the good news is, Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. has time to host a cooking show! Alongside some “celebrity” chefs. I mean, a worm dined on this man’s brain and promptly DIED. But sure, why not. After all, he’s as qualified a chef as he is a medical expert. You can catch the first episode of The Real Food Show (yes, that is the real title) on the HHS website and on YouTube. Or you can do literally anything else. RFK croaked his way through an interview with USA Today to promote his latest hobby:
Kennedy is launching “The Real Food Show,” a new cooking series on July 30, to help translate the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans into easy, affordable meals they can prepare at home, he said in an exclusive sit-down interview with USA TODAY.
An evangelist of fermented food who once carried a personal stash of sauerkraut to restaurants, the HHS secretary said the recipes will feature kimchi, sauerkraut and yogurt.
As he prepares to try to change Americans’ eating habits, Kennedy also talked about cooking with the family as an antidote to loneliness; his own eating habits (“I’ll eat anything. I don’t have a gag reflex”); his status as a weight loss guru among members of the Trump Cabinet; and a culinary habit his wife banned while going out to dinner.
The new dietary guidelines, unveiled in January, prioritize protein at every meal, full-fat dairy, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. The slogan “Eat Real Food” accompanying the new guidelines is an oft repeated mantra among his circle of influencers, including boxing legend Mike Tyson.
…The program will showcase how to prepare healthy meals for less than $5 a serving whenever possible, according to HHS.
The first couple of episodes will feature chefs Andrew Gruel and Robert Irvine. The program will be broadcast online. For the first episode with Gruel, RFK Jr will cook up a recipe for Crispy Salmon Cakes with Apple, White Bean & Green Salad.
Kennedy’s Make America Healthy Again movement has found common ground among a bipartisan group of voters, primarily those known as MAHA Moms, with its promise to combat chronic childhood diseases by reducing environmental toxins, ultra-processed foods and “overmedicalization.”
…Part of the job of Kennedy’s Health and Human Services Department will be “reintroducing” Americans to cooking, he said.
More than half of all men and almost three-quarters of women regularly cook at home, according to a 2023 study in the peer-reviewed journal Current Developments in Nutrition from the American Society for Nutrition.
Kennedy said cooking is not just a way to get good nutrition but also a “sacred ritual that has been abandoned.”
No, come on Robert Irvine! I used to watch Restaurant Impossible with my parents; we’ll have to scratch that one off the list. Now getting back to the other Robert… I didn’t know carrying around his own sauerkraut was one of RFK’s fetishes, but I guess it’s a good way to mask the smell of dead whale / raccoon / bear cub / insert wild animal here. As for being the “weight loss guru” of the Trump Cabinet, lol, that’s not really a flex. (Or was USA Today purposefully trolling RFK with that line?) I also love the way he positions himself as the savior of the lost art of cooking (Goop would like a word about that), and then the article chimes right in with “well actually… Americans cook at home all the time.” Solving a problem that doesn’t exist while ignoring the many crises we do have: the hallmark of the Trump administration.
But of course one statement made by RFK here stands out among all others: “I’ll eat anything. I don’t have a gag reflex.” His saying that out loud is a war crime, right? It has to be. Maybe he doesn’t have a gag reflex because by merely uttering those words, he’s passed it on to all of us!
photos are via YouTube and The Real Food Show