Our Well With series chats up notable locals to share their fitness routines and what wellness means to them. Someone you’d like to hear from? Send their name to [email protected].
As our state’s only national James Beard award-winning chef, Gavin Kaysen may be renowned for his culinary prowess. In the past decade, the beloved restaurateur is behind some of the buzziest new openings in town, most recently with Mara at the Four Seasons Hotel. But you may not know he’s also a regular at Life Time, where he hones his wellness routine.
Here, he shares what motivates him to hit the gym, his work toward achieving work-life balance, and his secret (or not-so-secret) guilty pleasure.
As a professional chef, your job requires long hours on your feet. What does your typical fitness and wellness routine look like?
I would say that I am very disciplined with my workout and fitness routine. I work out at Life Time four days per week; two of the days focus on conditioning and the other two focus on strength. I also try to limit my last meal of the night before 7 p.m., and I do get a good amount of sleep most nights. I am not consistent at this, but I try for at least seven hours.
You have a couple of James Beard Awards under your belt. That must come with a lot of pressure. What are some of the ways you care for your mental health?
Honestly, I do not look at it that way, and maybe that is part of what helps me. I always wanted my goal to be that if I need to leave my restaurants to watch my sons at sports, choir, or whatever they are doing, I can leave and see that. That gives me so much joy and really fills my bucket.
Just like working in the kitchen, wellness requires community. How important is it for you to have that camaraderie in terms of your wellness routine? Do you prefer to hit the gym solo? Or do you need people to help keep you accountable?
At Life Time, I have two trainers who I work with—Brian Fox and Brian McKinny. They have given me more in the past five years of my life than I could have ever imagined. Every class I take with them is with a group of people—many of whom I have worked out with for years. They keep me positive, they hold me accountable, and they lift me on days that are hard and ground me when I think too much of myself. It is a great community and one that I am so grateful to have every day in my life.
As a chef, you know food is fuel. What fuels you?
Serving people, cooking for people, and watching them enjoy what we have created. This is not about me—it is about the team of people around me that have allowed me to express my vision to the guests every night.
What are your indulgences or guilty pleasures?
Ice cream—I love it. As much as I try to not eat it, I can’t.
Tell us something surprising, fitness-related or other, that most people don’t know about you.
I journal—this also helps me clear my mind and find some truth in what I am doing and looking for. Nobody has the answers to any of this thing we call “life,” but if I can find joy in giving others joy, I know what I am living for.