The Sunday Daily: To Save His Life, Our Food Critic Reset His Appetite

The Daily | The New York Times
Aired: March 15, 2026
Host: Michael Barbaro
Guest: Pete Wells, former NYT Restaurant Critic

Overview

In this candid episode, Michael Barbaro speaks with Pete Wells, the longtime restaurant critic for the New York Times, about his remarkable transformation from a life of culinary indulgence to one focused on mindful, health-driven eating. Prompted by a serious health scare, Pete shares how he overhauled his relationship with food, the emotional and logistical challenges of leaving one of journalism’s most coveted roles, and the “mindfulness” principles that now anchor his daily meals. This is both a cautionary and an inspiring tale about pleasure, deprivation, health, and the often-unexpected rewards of change.

Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. The Raisin Meditation: Slowing Down

(00:31 – 03:35)

• Pete arrives with a small gift: a pack of California raisins, introducing the "raisin meditation"—a mindfulness exercise that asks you to focus entirely on a single raisin, to fully experience its look, smell, and taste.
• Quote [02:09] Pete Wells: “Everything. I mean, it unlocked its flavor. All in all, it took us 25 minutes to eat one raisin.”
• This slow, attentive way of eating starkly contrasts with Pete’s former career, where indulgence and volume were the norm.

2. Health Crisis: A Turning Point

(03:36 – 11:00)

• Pete recounts a pivotal moment at a New Year’s party in 2024, when a doctor, simply by looking at his abdomen, privately expressed grave concern about Pete’s health—potentially cirrhosis or severe hernia.
• Lab work soon confirmed alarming levels: high cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar—diagnosing him as pre-diabetic.
• Quote [08:44] Pete Wells: “Bad. And there was a lot of red on that page... and even I, who know nothing about health and diet, knew that this was bad.”

3. The Toll of Food Criticism

(09:02 – 14:28)

• At the time of his diagnosis, Wells was deeply immersed in assembling a list of NYC's 100 greatest restaurants, leading to “more eating than [he] ever had in [his] life.”
• The demands of the job were incompatible with health: constant over-ordering, frequently eating rich foods, and always being “the life of the party.”
• Quote [11:00] Pete Wells: “The only way that I was ever going to leave there was if I got fired or dropped dead.”
• He realized true change required giving up his critic role.

4. Letting Go of Indulgence: Social & Emotional Cost

(14:29 – 16:13)

• Leaving the NYT critic job meant restructuring his entire social life, losing the social perks and the allure that came with the role.
• “People came out and spent time with me who would not have come to my apartment...am I really this popular or is it just the car?”

5. Overhauling Diet: The Nuts and Bolts

(16:13 – 23:36)

• First step: eliminate simple carbohydrates (sugar, white flour, white rice, pasta)—the culprits behind his blood sugar spikes and cravings.
• Quote [18:01] Pete Wells: “What I discovered as I gave it up was that my mind cleared. I didn't even understand what was happening for a while, but my mind was clearing. I didn’t have all these voices shouting at me, like, ‘Hey, it's cookie time.’”
• Replaced animal proteins and processed foods with more fruits, vegetables, fish, beans, and lentils.
• Discovered that arranging healthier foods in his kitchen at eye level dramatically increased his odds of making better choices.

6. Food Environment: Shopping & Home Habits

(19:58 – 24:55)

• Shifted grocery shopping habits—favored a local food co-op for higher-quality produce and fewer temptations found in typical supermarkets.
• Quote [21:59] Pete Wells: “Cereal boxes stacked up to the sky that you couldn’t possibly miss...just like walking through the slot machines: bing, bing, bing.”
• Made logistics and visibility work for (not against) him: fruit and nuts at eye level, less-healthy options out of reach or eliminated.

7. Pleasure Redefined: Recipes and Satisfaction

(25:05 – 26:52)

• New, simpler meals (e.g., lentil and carrot salad) replace elaborate restaurant dishes.
• Notably, previously “penitential” foods become pleasurable when approached with care and greater sensory attention.
• Quote [26:15] Pete Wells: “The lentils, if they have the right partner, they are enough. And not just enough, but actually kind of wonderful.”

8. Alcohol: A Difficult but Crucial Shift

(27:04 – 33:31)

• Pete and Michael discuss the emotional and professional ties to alcohol, especially in the context of socializing and restaurant dining.
• Nearly stopped drinking at home; now reserves it for special occasions or outings, bringing mindfulness even to martinis.
• Quote [32:32] Pete Wells: “It’s like getting an injection in your veins of some, like, experimental drug that hits all your pleasure senses. Right? ...I just don't need it every night of my life.”

9. Long-term Results: Health Markers and Mindset

(34:28 – 36:45)

• No longer in crisis: out of the red zone, not pre-diabetic, and with improved weight and mental clarity.
• Did not rely on medication like GLP-1 (Ozempic), but is vigilant about potential relapse and weight regain.
• Quote [36:20] Pete Wells: “My mind is just brightened...it's wild actually. Sometimes you don't realize how bad you felt until you feel better.”

10. Philosophical Reflections: What Food Means Now

(37:01 – 38:54)

• Finds cooking and eating at home to be restorative, grounding, and satisfying in an entirely new way.
• Draws joy from the act of preparing simple foods with care and intention, and appreciates sensory presence in daily life.
• Quote [38:32] Pete Wells: “When I'm cooking now, and even when I'm eating, I feel like I’m doing something which is somehow like really satisfying, just really appreciating how I can just feel like, here I am, here I am, right here, right now.”

Notable Quotes (with Attribution and Timestamps)

• "All in all, it took us 25 minutes to eat one raisin."
  — Pete Wells, [02:09]
• "I was in so much trouble from basically pretending that I could eat and eat and eat with no consequence."
  — Pete Wells, [04:16]
• "It led me into much more eating than I had anticipated, so that I could really feel like I could stand behind my choices."
  — Pete Wells, [09:15]
• "My philosophy about restaurant criticism was always that I should be a reporter on the frontiers of pleasure, and here's what's out there."
  — Pete Wells, [12:12]
• "What I discovered as I gave it up was that my mind cleared...what people now call food noise. I was surrounded by it, and a lot of it just cleared up."
  — Pete Wells, [18:01]
• "You go into a typical American supermarket...it’s just all in your face, trying to get your attention...like walking through the slot machines: bing, bing, bing."
  — Pete Wells, [21:59]
• "The lentils, if they have the right partner, they are enough. And not just enough, but actually kind of wonderful."
  — Pete Wells, [26:15]
• "It's like getting an injection in your veins of some, like, experimental drug that hits all your pleasure senses. Right?"
  — Pete Wells, [32:32]
• "Sometimes you don’t realize how bad you felt until you feel better."
  — Pete Wells, [36:45]
• "When I'm cooking now, and even when I'm eating, I feel like I’m doing something which is somehow like really satisfying."
  — Pete Wells, [38:32]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:31 – Start of the “single raisin” exercise; intro to mindfulness and changing eating habits
• 03:36 – Pete describes pre-crisis eating routines as critic and disconnection from bodily cues
• 05:07 – Health scare: the New Year’s sauna incident
• 08:44 – Bloodwork confirmation: red zones and prediabetes
• 11:00 – Realizing he must leave beloved critic role to save his health
• 16:22 – The new dietary approach: eliminating sugars and simple carbs
• 18:01 – Epiphany about “food noise” and mental clarity
• 19:58 – More focus on whole foods, plant-based meals, and co-op shopping
• 25:05 – Concrete examples of new meals and pleasure in simplicity
• 27:04 – Discussion about alcohol, its social/professional role, and mindful moderation
• 34:28 – Michael checks on Pete’s health: “Are you out of crisis?”
• 36:45 – Pete’s reflections on well-being and newfound energy
• 37:01 – Philosophy and the deeper joys of home cooking and eating with mindfulness

Concluding Thoughts

Through his frank and sometimes humorous conversation, Pete Wells illustrates how even a life built upon the pursuit of pleasure can be meaningfully, even joyfully, rewritten. The episode delivers both practical insights and philosophical lessons about food, health, pleasure, and the value of paying attention. For anyone struggling with their own appetites, compulsions, or health scares, Wells’s journey is an honest exploration of what’s lost, gained, and redefined in the process of personal transformation.