Three local chefs lose weight on new ‘Fat Chef’ series

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Jennifer Bucko Lamplough, a chef instructor at the Robert Morris University’s Institute of Culinary Arts, gets a workout with trainer Robert Brace on”Fat Chef.”

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Every good chef has their hands full.

That includes Batavia resident Jennifer Bucko Lamplough, a 37-year-old chef instructor for the Robert Morris University’s Institute of Culinary Arts. But she made time for one thing: losing weight.

She, along with two other chefs from the Chicago area, will be featured on the Food Network’s new series “Fat Chef,” which premiered Thursday.

The six-episode series follows a dozen overweight culinary pros from Chicago, New York, New Jersey and Ohio on a 16-week journey to overcome weight issues with the help of therapists, nutritonists and trainers.

Michael Digby, 29, a chef at the acclaimed Quay Chicago, 465 E. Illinois, and Maggie Latos, 29, a pastry chef at Marion Street Cheese Market in Oak Park, are the other two chefs from the Chicago area.

The show already has been a succes in terms of the chefs’ well-being.

The 5-foot-4 Bucko Lamplough tipped the scales at 263 pounds when taping began. She has lost 48 pounds.

Digby, 6-foot-1, weighed 320 pounds when he was picked for “Fat Chef.” So far he has lost 100 pounds. A borderline diabetic, he had been worried about dying because of weight complications.

Latos, at 5-foot-9, was 270 pounds when taping began. She has dropped 30 pounds. She has “Low & Slow” tattooed above her right and left knuckles, respectively — her inspiration. “This certainly applies to the food series. If you want it real bad you have to work for it.”

Digby nods in agreement, saying, “It is a challenge. I never used to look at myself in the mirror. I can’t get away from the mirror now. It feels great to have a change of lifestyle. To be a black man and accomplish something like this, it is very hard. In the black community we have a lot of fast food restaurants. At the checkout counter of my drugstore they have a soft drink liter for a dollar. That’s 63 tablespoons of sugar. And a buy one, get one free candy bar.”

“Fat Chef” is no run-of-the-mill reality show.

Latos says, “It’s more about lifestyle changes. No one gets voted off. No one wins a million dollars at the end. You are so passionate about food, but at the same time, it can cause you to be unhealthy.”

Digby points out, “It’s not just a weight loss show, because we are not taken out of our own element. We’re around food constantly. On other weight loss show, they take people somewhere and they’re secluded.”

Digby’s segment airs Feb. 9. (The other Chicago segments are TBA.)

All three came to “Fat Chef” in different ways. Latos learned about the show in August while seeing a casting call on Craigslist. Digby was introduced to a Food Network associate who wanted to know if the chef wanted to lose weight. Bucko Lamplough read a Facebook posting.

Bucko Lamplough, who lives in Batavia with her husband, is co-author of two American Diabetes Association cookbooks, including the best-selling Healthy Calendar Diabetic Cooking.

“I was trying to work out, trying to get healthy, but spinning my wheels,” she says in a phone conversation. “I have a very deep understanding of healthy cooking and healthy eating. But I couldn’t make it work for myself.

“I was ready for someone to help me.”

The chefs did not know what they were getting themselves into. The show was loosely fitted.

“For me there was very limited planning,” Latos says.

“I didn’t know what we were going to shoot next. They were everywhere. It was pervasive.” Digby adds, “It was very different to be followed around by a camera crew in your personal space and have them take pictures of your body in the gym. Going to the gym was part of the process of the show. I’ve never liked my body. I was never happy with the person that I was.”

Latos has a blown-out knee that limited her exercise program. She stands in the kitchen, sometimes up to 12 hours a day. Doctors have said her knee will not get better unless she loses weight. Latos reaggravated her knee injury during the show’s taping.

“My problem is also different in that I have Attention Deficit Disorder and I take Adderall for it,” she says. “That acts as an appetizer depressant so I tend not to eat during the day. I snack and taste the food I am preparing, which can add up. Plus, having ADD, I have a very selective memory and don’t worry about immediacy.”

Digby concurs. “Once you’ree tasting you’re adding on more calories,” he says. “My problem was that if I saw it, I ate it. Fries, chicken, burgers. Whatever. It is hard to take something out of your life that has been a permanent part of your life.”

Bucko Lamplough’s breakthrough moment was with her therapist.

“A lot of my issue was putting everybody else ahead of me,” she says. “My therapist said it wasn’t about putting myself first necessarily, but putting myself on a par with everybody else. It may not be a profiled moment for others, but I didn’t know that.”

The not-so-fat chefs were not crazy about the “Fat Chef” title.

“I didn’t like it at first because I never liked to be called ‘fat,’” Digby says. “Now it doesn’t bother me, because I’m not (fat). This is different from other reality shows because the audience will learn that we are ordinary people leading ordinary lives.” Latos adds, “There are a lot of negative connotations to the word ‘fat.’ It felt lazy. It wasn’t a clever title. A lot of people have told me it sounded really mean. But at this point, I don’t worry about it. And the whole point from the get-go was to depict people in the food industry in a positive light and that this is possible.”

Most chefs have rich food memories. Bucko Lamplough’s parents owned a Dairy Queen in Merrillville, Ind.

“They bought it when I was 11,” she says. “I was working there when I was 12. My first culinary job was making Dilly Bars.”

Latos grew up in northwest suburban Woodstock, where her father, Stan, is a real estate developer.

“All the women on both sides of my family were prominent bakers,” she says. “I grew up around quality pastries.”

Working with professionals during the 16-week taping period helps establish the foundation for the chefs to keep the weight off.

“I was introduced to a number of people who helped me in my daily routine so I know what to do to keep off weight,” Digby says. “It’s about having a daily routine. Routine is key. And there is a different solution for everyone. Even though my journey with this show is over, there is still the journey to maintain what I’ve learned and what I’ve done.”