You’d be hard-pressed to find two professions whose approach to diets differs more widely than male models and personal chefs. But Rōze Traore, a 25-year-old Portland, Oregon native and a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, makes a living doing both of those things. When he’s not flying around the world to cook for guys like Rick Owens or The Wire’s Michael K. Williams, Traore is busy walking in runway shows or starring in magazine editorials. We asked the multi-talented chef, who’s spending part of his summer in New York working at The Nomad alongside restaurant legend Daniel Humm, how a guy who makes lobster rolls and pasta all day maintains a year-round six pack.

GQ: Is it hard to stay fashion-guy lean when you’re in a kitchen all day? Do you ever have moments where you step back and say, I’m maybe a little bigger than I would like to be?

Rōze Traore: I have those times for sure. Especially if you’re a model, you’re kind of never happy with how you look. You have days where you feel great, but you also have this obsession with being that perfect puzzle. You’ll wake up and you’ll be like, Damn, my cheekbones are filling up! Crazy shit like that. But when I do feel that way, I get on the bike, or I go to the sauna, and I’m sorted the next day.

So it’s easy for you to bounce back from it.

Yes. If I get a modeling job, I’ll work for it. At this point in my career I’m not doing a lot of running around for castings or whatnot. It’s more direct bookings, so I’ll know within like four or five days, and that’s enough time for me to give the client what they want.

What made you want to be a chef?

I started with the whole chef thing straight out of high school. I was 17 years old, and I wanted to know the whys with food. Why does food act this way when it reaches a certain temperature? No one in my family knew about that. They just knew how to cook good food and that was that.

What were the good foods you remember eating growing up, the things you couldn’t get enough of?

It was a lot of stews and very hearty dishes from my dad, because he was the cook at the house coming from the Ivory Coast background and culture. And he cooked fish. That was a big thing. I’ve kept that with me: my passion and my obsession with seafood. [My favorite dish growing up] was braised fish with, like, veggies and couscous. It was something that my dad always made.

Why do you think he was so focused on feeding you a clean diet?

I was born with a heart murmur. I had surgery twice, once when I was a newborn and once when I was like 14, 15. So it’s always been about staying healthy and not eating too much red meat. And during the recovery, the only thing I could do was get in the kitchen and find ways to get myself healed. That’s another way I got into food: trying to be healthy.

Is that the only thing that kept you lean? Were you an athlete in a past life?

Yeah, I was definitely into a lot of sports. I was into track in high school. Did a little swimming, basketball. I’m like 6’4”, so I took advantage of those sports that make sense [for tall people].

How did you get into modeling? Where were you discovered?

After Le Cordon Bleu, I found myself in Washington, DC, working for a very good restaurant called CitiZen. That’s when I started to slowly get introduced with the whole modeling industry. And I decided to just move to New York and make my way up the ladders as far as getting signed, and I ended up moving to London, because that’s where I started working the most.

Tell me about your day-to-day diet. You work in one field where guys get made fun of for being underfed and another one where you actually feed people. How do you eat, personally?

So I wake up and I automatically put on a pot of green tea, every morning. After that I get on my Peloton bike, just to keep the ticker happy. And from there, I go to the sauna. I’m obsessed with the sauna. And then I find myself in the kitchen and make myself a good breakfast.

Before we get to breakfast, what is it about the sauna that you like so much?

I’m obsessed with having good skin. And with the sauna, what it does is it gives me a gloss, if that makes sense, and it cleans out my pores. That’s my favorite thing about the sauna. It’s kind of like a shortcut for having a good face.

How do you eat during the rest of the day?

For breakfast on a normal day I’ll toast up some blue corn tortillas and some sunny side up eggs. And I’ll sautée some veggies with it. Asparagus is what I’ve been doing lately, because that’s in season. And if I have some onions in the fridge, I’ll go for that. My breakfasts are pretty in and out.

For lunch, whenever I get a break during the day I’ll usually do like a seared fish, whether it’s tuna or black bass or fluke. And I make a little green salad with some dill and whatever else I can find. And that’s my quick lunch.

Do you eat dinner or are you on this intermittent fasting kick like everyone else?

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For dinner, I eat a lot of veggies. My whole style is being about to go in the kitchen and just free fall. If I go in the fridge and I see, I have these ingredients, that’s what I’m going to create. It’s usually sautéed veggies with some spices, and a protein. Which is either chicken—I make an amazing whole roast chicken, or sous vide chicken — or I’ll have some leftover tuna and I’ll make a quick tuna salad or tuna nicoise.

This all seems pretty calorie restrictive.

I have this thing: eat what you can afford. Meaning, if I can afford to lose a meal calorie wise, then that’s what I feel comfortable with, instead of going crazy over an amount of food that I won’t be able to burn.

So you’ll eat a meal that’s, say, 500 calories, knowing that you can burn that off in a workout.

Exactly. I know that I can get on the Peloton and ride for 40 minutes and burn that off. So I can afford that. Two thousand calories? I know I can’t do that; it won’t be too pleasant. But I have my days where I take breaks. The alcohol is where it gets me.

The alcohol is where it gets all of us. What do you eat on your cheat days?

I’m a major, major ice cream fan. About two weeks ago I ate an entire pint of ice cream just sitting! That was like, a big no no. But it was very good vanilla ice cream, and I enjoyed it. I like good stuff, I just tend to avoid it. I also eat a lot of pizza. I’m obsessed with it.

How often would you say these cheat days happen?

Probably every two weeks, so I’m due for another one soon.

Is there anything you’re planning on making when the time comes?

Pancakes. Matcha pancakes are one of the things that I’ll load myself up with. And they’re very quick to make. Just rack those up with some good maple syrup and you’re golden.

I’m sort of surprised it’s not something more luxurious.

People think chefs make themselves Michelin-starred restaurant food every night. And it’s the total opposite, because that’s what you’ve been doing the whole day. It’s not like you don’t think you’re worthy or anything, it’s just … you just want to have good food that you know how to make. Like, I could do it, but it’s not that serious when it’s just for me.

Is there anything you won’t eat?

Pork. Yeah, I don’t eat pork.

Is that a religious thing or is it just because of how it affects your body?

It’s more about how if affects my body. Now, if I want to try a dish for a client, I’ll take a quick nibble. But I never buy pork. It doesn’t react well for me. I also do not like cottage cheese. I think it’s pretty disgusting. I’m pretty open minded when it comes to food. But yeah, cottage cheese is a no.

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I’m glad you mentioned your clients. Who are the coolest people you’ve cooked for? Rick Owens has made a couple of appearances on your Instagram.

I cooked for Rick and Michele [Lamy, his wife], and the whole Rick Owens corp in Venice. The thing that I love about Rick and Michele is that they are all about a clean diet. Rick’s favorite salad is like an avocado salad, and staying fit is his thing. Really loved them, really great people, great energy. That’s who I like to be around.

As far as coolest client? It’s the actor Michael K. Williams. This guy has has an amazing career, and he is still the most humble person on earth. He’s definitely one of the coolest clients I’ve gotten to work with and be friends with.

What do you do when your clients want something that’s rich and super indulgent?

My philosophy with feeding my clients is, I’m gonna give you a background of my cooking style and technique, but I can really make anything you want me to make. You know, just because I eat a certain way doesn’t mean that’s how you have to eat. I’m definitely going to make what you’re obsessed with or what you’ve really been wanting, and you can rest assured that I’ll do that with the freshest ingredients and in the healthiest way I can.

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