Heston Blumenthal has revealed that he is taking the weight-loss drug Wegovy.
The celebrity chef admitted his use of the drug was a “paradox” as a restaurateur, and warned that its continued use threatened to topple the food industry.
The father-of-four said he started taking Wegovy to combat the effects of his bipolar medication after he was diagnosed with Type 1 bipolar disorder in 2023. He said the medication had also caused slurred speech, problems with balance and brain fog.
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“I’ve put on so much weight, but it’s starting to come off now,” the 59-year-old said, adding that the semaglutide injections had resulted in him losing 8kg so far.
Weight-loss drug Wegovy
Blumenthal, who has been awarded seven Michelin stars over the course of his three-decade career, also warned the drugs would have an impact on the restaurant industry.
He added: “Wegovy, Ozempic, Mounjaro – you still enjoy food, but they stop appetite. So what’s going to happen is people are going to want smaller portions.”
He told Times Radio it is “going to get much worse in the next six months” for the restaurant business, adding that supermarkets would also be affected.
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The Fat Duck, Blumenthal’s three-Michelin starred restaurant, is among the fine dining establishments hit by the decline in appetite, while costs of food, labour and fuel have all increased.
He said he was aiming to “formulate” a plan that might combat some of the losses from its highly profitable tasting menus, which can feature more than 11 courses.
Blumenthal, who divides his time between Berkshire and France with his wife Melanie, has previously written in The Telegraph about his “surprise” bipolar diagnosis.
The chef, who presented Channel 4 shows Heston’s Fantastical Food and Heston’s Feasts, as well as several series of MasterChef in Australia, was sectioned following a manic episode in 2023. He was the subject of BBC documentary Heston: My Life With Bipolar, which was broadcast in June.
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Discussing food programmes following the BBC’s MasterChef fallout involving the former presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode, Blumenthal said: “I don’t think food programmes are toxic.
“I think that when you do cooking competition shows, you work with a lot of people, and humans are humans. And that means relationship issues happen.”