“Never trust a skinny chef”

“Never trust a skinny chef” (or “Never trust a skinny cook”) is a saying that has been printed on many images. The implication is that a skinny chef doesn’t eat much of his or her own food, or that the food isn’t very filling.
   
“Who can trust a skinny cook” was printed in the Dayton (OH) Daily News on February 18, 1963. “Never trust a skinny chef, we always say” was printed in the Orlando (FL) Evening Star on July 16, 1965.
     
Similar sayings include “Never trust a skinny ice cream maker/man” (from Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s, and cited in print since at least 1991) and “Never trust a fat dietitian” (cited in print since 1998). “Never judge a cook by his blubber” is a related and opposite saying.
     
     
18 February 1963, Dayton (OH) Daily News, “When Student Pockets Jingle Steak Wins Popularity Poll” by Maggie Fitzgibbons, pg. 20, col. 1:
Mrs. Estelle Cason, cafeteria manager, a round woman (who can trust a skinny cook) with round blue eyes and a Kentucky drawl, looked benevolently at the line as she dispensed soup.
 
14 August 1963, Huntsville (AL) Times, “A Well-Fed Cook: Arsenal Good Eaters Clamor for His Ear,” pg. 14, col. 3:
Well-fed (Robert—ed.) Heil (“people wouldn’t trust a skinny cook”) is the Post Exchange food supervisor on Redstone Arsenal.
   
16 July 1965, Orlando (FL) Evening Star, “Brevard Beacon” by Dick Young, pg. 4-A, col. 5:
NEVER TRUST A skinny chef, we always say.
       
15 November 1967, Orlando (FL) Sentinel, “Brevard Beacon” with Dick Young, Brevard Sentinel sec., pg. 4, col. 3:
Robert Martin—a man who looks as though he enjoys his chow—is the cook and sets a good table. But then, who can trust a skinny cook.
 
7 January 1971, The Courier-Journal (Lousiville, KY), “Victor Jory stars in the kitchen, too: Famous actor applies energy, taste, talent to fine cooking” by Carol Sutton, Women’s World sec., pg. ?, col. 1:
(Victor—ed.) Jory, slim and energetic at 68, warns that one should “never trust a skinny chef.”
 
13 January 1975, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ), “Bubonic plague preferred to weigh-in” by Carol Sowers, pg. B-7, col. 5:
The whole painful experience proved one of my lifelong convictions: Never trust a skinny nurse stoned on sesame seed salads.
 
4 March 1976, Augusta (GA) Chronicle, “French cooking is taught by expert” by Louise Thrash, pg. E1, col. 1:
The French use lots of whipping cream, pure butter, cheese, wines and liqueurs in their cooking. But as Chef Carles pointed out, “You wouldn’t trust a skinny chef, would you?”
 
Google News Archive
17 January 1979, Deseret News, “If a skinny chef can’t be trusted,  prison chef can” by Jack Monson, pg. 8H, col. 1:
UTAH STATE PRISON—Never trust a skinny chef.
   
Google News
3 June 1981, Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT), pg. F1, col. 2:
Never trust a skinny chef—he’ll ham it up!
By Winnifred Jardine
 
Google News Archive
5 March 1983, Fort Scott (KS) Tribune, “At Wit’s End” by Erma Bombeck, pg. 5, col. 6:
Never trust a skinny cook
I don’t know about you, but I never buy a cookbook written by a skinny person. It’s pure fiction.
   
OCLC WorldCat record
Never trust a skinny chef
Author: Les Kincaid; Creative Cuisine.
Publisher: Las Vegas, Nev. : Teed-Up, 1984
Edition/Format: Book : English
 
Google Books
August 1987, Texas Monthly, pg. 108:
WHO SAYS NEVER TRUST A SKINNY CHEF?
By Alison Cook
   
26 February 1989, Chicago (IL) Sun-Times, pg. 48:
“Never trust a skinny chef,” confided Louis Szathmary, dean of restaurateurs;...
 
24 July 1990, Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT):
Hilton Hotels used to advertise ``never trust a skinny chef.’‘
 
13 September 1992, Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, UT), pg. B3: 
“Would you trust a skinny chef who looks like he doesn’t enjoy his food?’’ Mr. Stucki asked.
   
Zazzle.com
Never Trust a Skinny Chef apron by mrsrnj
Never Trust a Skinny Chef mug by mrsrnj
created by mrsrnj (6/1/2007 11:56 AM)
     
AuburnPub.com
Hanging on until spring
By Chance Bear
Wednesday, January 20, 2010 12:00 AM EST
(...)
I mean, you don’t get my waistline by saying “no thank you” when it comes to desserts. I think it is my duty and my privilege to sample as much as possible. The old saying goes, and I quote, “Never trust a skinny chef.” Well, that may not be always true, but it is the excuse I give to my significant other.
 
Ohio.com
Glenmoor chef tightening belt with diet and fitness program
Meeker hopes to lose 200 pounds under new regimen
By Lisa Abraham
Beacon Journal food writer
Published on Sunday, Feb 07, 2010
’‘Never trust a skinny chef’’ is a common saying in culinary circles.