Ozempic stole Christmas.
New York City hosts and chefs are slimming down holiday spreads, nixing filet mignon and fondue for canapés and crostini, catering to shrunken appetites of guests on the weight loss drug.
Upper East Side based philanthropist and author Jean Shafiroff is opting for lighter bites for a festive cocktail party she’s hosting on Thursday with the Ozempic crowd in mind.
“A lot of friends don’t like to admit that they’re on it,” Shafiroff told The Post, of observing some of her inner circle nibble with less gusto at cocktail parties than in years past.
It’s out with the pasta courses and carving stations with giant joints of beef, in with the delicate crostini and sushi, says Shafiroff of guests who are primarily there to sip and mingle.
She worked with Cornelia Guest Catering to curate lighter fare, like sushi, vegetable crostini with a green goddess dip, golden beets and shrimp cocktail.
“It’s usually drinks and a few light bites. If they go to a cocktail party they’ll usually have two bites instead of five. They’re rationing what they eat. The key is to not run out of alcohol,” she says, of prioritizing spirits over ample food stations, opting to put just one dessert, brownies, out Thursday.
Graze is all the rage this holiday season – for better or worse, celebrity caterer Sean Patrick Gallagher of Home Grown Meals told The Post.
“People base entertaining around health trends – Ozempic is something people brought up to me so we need some lighter fare options,” Gallagher said.
“The grazing table fad is not going away. It’s here to stay. Everyone stayed away from grazing tables because of COVID, now it’s like every single party wants one.
Gallagher says before semaglutide drugs shrunk some of his client’s appetites, he used to curate steakhouse-like carving stations and free-flowing sliders.
“Now we put mini grilled veggie kebabs and grilled vegetable skewers with cheeses – lighter fare in general,” he said.
Mezze spreads like hummus, lean lamb kebabs and Turkish meatballs are also in demand for clients like Moët & Hennessy, who requested a grazing table at the holiday party this year, he said.
“If it’s at a gala, some people won’t even touch the food. We usually give things to waitstaff, we give it to the staff,” Gallagher says of leftovers.
“As a chef it’s annoying – you have to change the way you operate. We cook protein as much as we can fresh on site, 75% in the kitchen and 25% gets finished off site – when you have a grazing table, you have to bring everything prepared. It’s putting it all out and it sits. If you have something crispy it won’t stay crisp. It’s also a lower budget,” he says.
Sushi hotspot Momoya SoHo has also been fielding requests for lighter fare from corporate holiday bookings.
“I’ve noticed an increase in requests to swap out certain entrees for lighter options from our sushi menu to be shared,” KwangHo Lee, owner of Momoya SoHo told The Post, adding that he’s considering revising a pre-fixe menu to suit changing appetites.
Michael, 32, an Upper West Side marketing consultant says he still has an appetite since going on weight-loss medication Wegovy last December, but he can’t stomach nearly as much food.
He takes a 1.7 mg injection once a week and at a recent holiday party in the West Village, he called it quits after two bites of a slider, a chicken canapé, two spring rolls and a mini hot dog.
“If I know I have a party at night, I’ll go light during the day – sometimes you’re like, ‘Oh my god. I could fill up on a lot more,’ and other times you’re like, ‘I can’t eat more than a cracker.’”
He says, he’s on more of a liquid diet this holiday season.
“My tolerance for cocktails is the same – booze is not an issue, it’s just a heavy food,” he told The Post.
“Essentially you’re eating less but more frequently. I’ll be eating hors d’oeuvres this holiday season. I was at a party and people were like ‘there’s no food.’ I’m like, ‘bitch, I’m full.’”
That’s also the case for Ariah Parker, 31, a pastry chef from Fairfield, Conn. who lost 28 pounds since going on Ozempic in July. On a recent holiday trip she didn’t cut back on her dosage, she just saved around $200 on food and drinks.
“I pretty much stop eating when I’m full. I didn’t skip a dose. With Ozempic, my eyes are still big when I’m filling my plate, I just stop eating sooner,” she says of navigating fewer helpings of stuffing and turkey this Thanksgiving.
Imbibing is also in smaller doses. Last Thanksgiving, she polished off a bottle of wine, this year, her glass was half-full.
“Ozempic has made me not desire alcohol nearly as much,” she told The Post.
“I’m definitely more of a grazer. I still ate, and I didn’t feel like I was missing out, I just didn’t eat in excess.”
Shafiroff, meanwhile, says some guests are still relishing the most wonderful time of the year for indulging. So she’s sticking to her post-party pizza ordering ritual.
“Some people still like to eat,” she quipped.
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